CSI: Sentinel The Awakening
by Azteka
Summary: ... the subtle and yet blatant similarities between the older man and her... especially their eyes ... The Lieutenant's eyes were warm and welcoming... her eyes held a vastness that could not be explained
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Disclaimer:**

_**CSI: Miami**_** is the trademark of CBS. Its characters are all the creation of Jerry Bruckheimer, Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn and Ann Donahue. However, this storyline and Seraphim belong to me and me alone. There are also some elements of **_**The**__**Sentinel**_**, which is the brainchild of Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, and it is also the trademark of Pet Fly Productions and Paramount Television.**

**Now, I know that there are some die-hard CSI fans out there… And to them, I only ask of one thing from them… When criticizing my piece, please be constructive… Not critical or anal… There's much of the TV series that I have missed due to obligations that I will not disclose. However, I do have a general idea of how certain events came about. For example, the issue with Eric's citizenship… **

**Although it is plausible for an individual, who was born abroad and as a babe or young child moved to the States - legally, can be deported back to their country of birth in lieu of doing a prison sentence if convicted of a crime. There have been a few recent cases of such a thing accruing; however, majority of such cases were dropped due to a judge's discretion. Now, as I said earlier, the whole scenario is plausible, but for my story… It did NOT happen! Eric is an American citizen; therefore, he will be part of my piece from start to finish! Ah! And if anyone wishes to call me to task in regards to commenting that Adam Rodriguez (Eric Delko) has naturally curly hair, I would recommend that you should check out a TV series from the Sci-Fi Channel called **_**All Souls**_**. It shocked the hell out of me when I did.**

**Next issue… I am aware that Tara Price lost her position as the ME due to her drug addiction, and was responsible (in part) for Kyle's mother, Julia, going a little psychotic. For this piece, the drug addiction issue does not exist. I am a big fan of Alexx Woods, and I would prefer to have her as the ME, but c'est la vie… So as my form of passive-aggressiveness, I will not be painting Ms. Price in a very flattering light, and eventually I will be getting rid of her from any future **_**CSI: Miami**_** pieces that I write. For those, who do like her… Well… Yeah... As for Julia… I haven't decided what to do with her just yet. She will make an appearance from time to time. After all she is Kyle's mother; however, as of yet, I haven't decided on whether or not I want her in a "supporting" role or a "confrontational" role. As the story progress, you'll see want I mean and hopefully inspiration will strike me.**

**Well now, enough of me rambling on. Here's the first of what I hope to be many more pieces within the **_**CSI: Sentinel**_** series, **_**The Awakening**_**. I hope that you enjoy my piece, and remember, constructive criticism is always appreciated.**

**-Azteka **

CSI: Sentinel Timeline [ xxx = canon, _**xxx = Azteka's AU**_ ]

1960 7 Apr - Horatio born _**to Caitlin nee O'Shea (16) and Donald Caine (23)**_

1965 20 Jul - Raymond born

_**1975 26 Jun - Seraphim born of Caitlin O'Shea (31) and Russell Aldea de Torres (36)**_

1977 3 Sep - Calleigh Duquesne born

1978 Horatio (18) graduated high school, _**enrolled in Police Cadet Corps while attending Borough of Manhattan Community College for an AAS in Criminal Justice**_

18 Jun - Marisol Delko born

1979 3 Jul - Ryan Wolfe born

1980 18 Dec - Eric Delko born

_**1982 Horatio enrolled in John Jay College of Criminal Justice, becomes a Sergeant in the NYPD upon graduation from Baorough of Manhattan Community College**_

1985_** Caitlin Caine **_murdered _**(38), **_Horatio _**(22) **_kills her killer_** (**_his father_**, 45)**_

_**1990 Horatio (30) made detective, went undercover in a joint agency operation called COLOMBAKE under the alias John Walden**_

1991 6 Jul - Kyle Harmon born to Julia Eberly-Winston and John Walden

_**1992 6 Sep - Raymond Junior born to Yelina Salas and Raymond Caine**_

_**1993 Seraphim enrolled into the Air Force Academy**_

1995 Horatio (35) is injured on the job by Walter Lee Resden, transferred to Miami-Dade Homicide

_**16 Jun**_ - Madison Barnham born of Susie Barnham and Raymond Caine

1996 Horatio (36) transferred to the Miami-Dade Bomb Squad

1997 Horatio (37) is promoted to Lieutenant, head of the day shift CSI team

_**Seraphim (22) graduate from AF Academy with high honors with the rank of Second Lieutenant, becomes one of a few women in Special Operations Forces**_

2003 17 Nov - Horatio (43) learns of Madison (8)

2006 8 May - Horatio (46) and Marisol (28) nee Delko married

15 May - Marisol murdered, Horatio widowed

18 Sep - Raymond (41) murdered in Rio

2007 24 Sep - Horatio (42) learns of his son, Kyle Harmon (16)

_**2008 Feb - Seraphim (33) is captured by al Queda/ Taliban forces, is presumed dead by Jul**_

Jun - Kyle (17) enlisted in the US Army Reserve with parental consent from his father _**as a Combat Medic with the 7222nd**__** Medical Support Unit**_

2009 Dec - Kyle (18) is stationed in Afghanistan, _**Seraphim (34) is found by SOF**_

_**2010 Jan/Feb - Seraphim was placed under Gibbons' care**_

_**May - Horatio (50) finds Seraphim (35), CSI: Sentinel begins**_


	2. Chapter 2

FF 101 "Seraphim"

The day was bright, warm and humid. The little café was nestled perfectly between two larger buildings and was nearly engulfed by a grove of palm trees. The buildings and trees gave the quaint café a sense of isolation from the rest of the world and most importantly shade from the blazing sun, which made it a nice get-away for many of the hardworking employees within the area. And while the café served mostly as a nice place for coffee or lunch, it was also ideal for a possible ambush by either one of two ethnic mafias that a shadowed figure had angered.

The quiet shadow did not give a damn whether or not he had angered the two mafias nor did he care that they have declared personal war against him and his team. Miami was _his_; his to though he was born and bred in New York, Miami was _his_ home, and no one was going to destroy his home. A faint smile ghosted through his glacial blue eyes as he remembered his beloved wife accusing him of being overprotective because of his own horrible childhood. He could not nor would he deny it. He knew it was irrational of him to think or even feel that by protecting his city, he could erase the overwhelming sense of guilt and failure that had plagued him since his childhood. He knew that he just did.

_But, Love, you were but a baby yourself! How could you have protected _her_ and yourself?_ His wife's voice lightly chided and reasoned with him.

_I know, Angel, I know._ He silently replied to the memory of her voice.

Suddenly sharp blue eyes narrowed as he saw the young man, who had called him for help. The hidden shadow remembered the lean-built young man quite well. He remembered how well the two of them had bonded from the guilt that they each carried in their hearts. The guilt that they had failed in protecting their precious loved ones. The shadowed figure remembered how his team had gone above and beyond the call of duty to learn the truth about what had happened to the young man's brother.

The young man was convinced that he had murdered his own brother. He had been so convinced that he was willing to accept a dishonorable discharge, court-martial and a sentence to Fort Leavenworth, the military prison. But the hidden figure knew the truth. Oh sure, he did not know the specifics to the case or the murder, but he _knew_ that the young man was innocent. His team and he had to and did prove it! Of course, it was a horrible accident, and the only truly malicious thing was the suspect's, the real murderer, cowardly belief that he was not in the wrong and thus his willingness to remain quiet, even when his best friend, the victim's brother, was going to take the fall!

The silent shade with glacial blue orbs then shook his head free from his memories as he returned his vigil of the young man, who called him. The young man seated himself at a simple table that was not blocked by people, trees or other tables. This caused the shadow to faintly smile. The young man had been back in the country from Iraq for almost a year and yet he was still ever-alert of his surroundings. The young man kept an ever-alert eye out for potential threats, but the silent shade knew that the handsome Marine was also looking for _him_.

It really surprised him to hear from the Marine Private. After all, most of the victims that the quiet shadow had helped in past would prefer to forget the traumatic events that had brought him into their lives, and they would just simply forget and move on. Oh sure, he would received a card or two from Private Hinshaw's mother, but to actually _hear_ from the Private himself. That really surprised the still figure.

After a few more seconds, the hidden shadow began to move away from the cool shade and towards the waiting young man. It only took the young man a few moments before he saw the approaching figure, and surprisingly the young man looked relieved to see the quiet shadow. Before the hidden figure could approach closer to the café, the young man stood up and quickly approached.

"Lieutenant!" The young man quietly called, "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice!"

Lieutenant Horatio Caine took the opportunity to observe the young man more closely. He was surprised to see the young African-American wearing a pair of dark blue scrubs beneath a simple windbreaker, but what surprised the redhead even more was the complete look of exhaustion and worry etched into his young face.

"Jerome." Horatio whispered. He liked the young man and did not like to see the Private upset. "Is everything alright?"

Immediately Jerome's body relaxed as if relieved that he made some sort of right decision.

"Sir, I need your help!" Jerome instantly said with the same desperation that pale redhead had heard once before.

Horatio then motioned for the young man to sit, which he gladly accepted.

"I didn't know where else to go, Sir." The young man whispered then looked away in shame. "I tried, Sir. I really did try, but… I'm afraid that I'm over my head… and I think I made it worse, Sir… sir, please, can you help me?"

"Jerome." Horatio quietly began, knowing that just by listening to his voice, the young man would calm down. The redhead needed the young man to be calm in order for him to explain everything to him. "What do you mean? What have you tried?"

"I work at the VA, Sir," Jerome began, "I couldn't go back… not after what I did, but I still wanted to wear the uniform so I decided to become a nurse… you know… still serve and do some good."

Jerome then paused as he looked at the red-haired Lieutenant, trying to gauge the older man's reaction… judgment, but he was surprised to see the infamous knowing smile gracing the redhead's face. Jerome then pressed on; subconsciously happy to know that the Lieutenant approved of his choice.

"We've been getting a lot of good men and women coming back from the Box, and… and well… there's this one vet… no one knows a thing about her! I mean, we know she's one of us… I've seen her… everyone at the VA has seen her, but no one knows who she is. And every time any one asks about her, they get transferred. It's as if the Director is keeping her prisoner… and I don't mean just a physical prisoner but also…" Jerome paused as if trying to find the right words, but the words kept slipping away, causing him to sigh in frustration.

"Jerome," Horatio's clam voice quietly echoed over the din of the crowd, "relax and take your time."

The stoic redhead did not like what he was hearing from the clearly distressed Private. However, Horatio always prided himself of reserving judgment until he had met an individual. The Lieutenant was always a good judge of character. As far as he could remember, the redhead had this ability to sense whether or not a person was "good" or "bad" just by being near them. He could not explain nor describe how he knew. He just _knew_ as he just knew that Jerome was telling the truth. And not just the young man's perception of the truth, the actual truth.

"Okay… You'll probably call me crazy, but I don't know how else to describe her but… she's feral."

Horatio blinked then cantered his head to the side.

"Feral?"

Jerome suddenly stilled as he saw the pale Lieutenant tilt his head. The young man had an overwhelming sense of déjà-vu when he noticed the older man's movement. It was so similar to _her_… Licking his suddenly dry lips, Jerome continued.

"Yeah, feral… it's like… it's like she's just this primal beast trapped in a human body but not really… there's times when I know she's in there… I mean the human side of her. It's still there, just hidden."

Horatio frowned again as he listened to the young man. It did not escape his notice at how Jerome seem to still at his simple gesture of confusion. Horatio also could hear it and see it in Jerome's eyes and voice that the young Private was desperate and desperately believed that _he_, a criminalist, could help this mysterious woman. If the redhead was honest, it sounded as if the young woman needed a psychologist, not a 'lab-rat' investigator, but then again, Horatio also felt that there was more to the story than what Jerome had just told. Plus… the redhead could not explain it, but he knew that he would help. He _had_ to.

"Jerome," Horatio then leaned forward and gave the young man an unnerving look, "What makes you think _I_ can help her?"

Jerome was silent. It was not the question that froze his thoughts or tongue but the Lieutenant's stare. Oh sure, he had seen that stare before when the older man was investigating his brother's murder; however, the young Private had not known _her_ then, so he could not see it, but now he did. He did see the uncanny similarities. For _her_, it was a subtle sign that she was alert and listening. It was her way of examining what was being said and examining whoever said it; the Lieutenant's gaze had the same effect and meaning. Jerome was shaken by the similarities that she and the good Lieutenant possessed.

"There was this doctor, Sir… Lt. Colonel Ocascio. He was able to help. He was able to reach her and get her to communicate with us, but… her other doctor, the Director… well, I don't know… it's like I said, he wants to keep her the way she is and so he accused Col. Ocascio of inappropriate behavior toward her and some of the other female patients." Jerome explained.

"Was he?" Horatio asked. He did not believe that was the case; however, he would be remiss if he did not ask.

"No! Hell no! Those were bullshit charges, Sir!" Jerome passionately protested. "It's just that she response well to touch! You know, like a cat or a dog… the Director made up those charges to get rid off Col. Ocascio. They couldn't prove or disprove the Director's claim so they transferred the Colonel to another hospital, but before he left, the Colonel told us what to do to help her. He told us on how to continue his work in helping her, but it's not enough and now… and now…" Words were lost to the young man as he looked at the red-haired Lieutenant, unable to shake the subtle and yet blatant similarities between the older man and her… especially their eyes.

Horatio's eyes were the same shade of blue as glacier ice that the young man had seen once before when he was stationed in Italy. However, unlike real glaciers, which reflected a cold and indifferent emptiness, the Lieutenant's eyes were warm and welcoming. The older man's eyes gave reassurances to those who needed it while her eyes mesmerized any who would stare into them. Her eyes held a vastness that could not be explained, like being both the ocean and space combined, and the color was breathtaking. It was a beautiful shade of pale blue. Something Jerome had seen only once on a beautiful Siberian Husky.

"Jerome," Horatio called, feeling a bit unnerved by the young man's sudden silence. "What happened?"

"At first, I didn't think much of it, but now… now, I kinda understand what she's doing. She's cutting herself."

"What?" Horatio asked; confused as to how the young man could understand self-mutilation.

"She's trying to purge herself of whatever drugs the Director fills her with…"

Horatio's eyes grew wide in horror and understanding. Even though Jerome had described the young woman as feral, it was obvious that there was still some level of self-awareness if she was able to determine whether or not a drug was helpful or poisonous to her and that she was able to purge herself of said poison.

"And last time… last time was _bad_…" Jerome whispered then with trembling hands, the young man pulled out a bulky envelope from his coat pocket and slowly handed it over to the Lieutenant, who quietly accepted it. "It was really bad, Sir… if I hadn't started my shift early that day, she… she…"

Jerome suddenly looked up when he felt a firm and yet comforting squeeze on his shoulder. The young Marine had not realized that the older man had stood up and approached him.

"Don't worry, Jerome." Horatio vowed, "I'll help in any way I can. I promise."

Jerome felt the tension in his muscles literally melt away under the redhead's touch and promise.

"Thank you, Sir."

Horatio gave the young Private one of his half smiles before hiding his eyes behind his infamous sunglasses and stepped out into the blinding sunlight.

* * *

Hunched over a simple microscope, a young woman with a healthy tan and short blonde-streaked brown hair was analyzing the unique growth patterns of several fungi that the ME, the Medical Examiner, had found on the team's latest victim. She was hoping to identify the species of fungi, which should hopefully lead the team to the actual crime scene. However, despite knowing that growth patterns looked familiar, the young woman could not remember the fungi's name. She was so engrossed in her studies that she failed to notice a silent shadow standing nearby.

Then suddenly she felt completely relaxed and confident in herself as the name that had alluded her began dancing in her forethought. Absently she looked up from her microscope and quickly scribbled out her thoughts and notes to be cross-referenced with the computer's own database. With notepad in hand, she turned around and let loose a startled yelp of surprise.

"Ms. Valeria." A soft voice greeted, not bothering to hide his slight bemusement at the young woman's reaction.

The young woman could feel her ears burning in embarrassment, but silently was pleased to see the glint of amusement in the sober man's eyes. In her opinion, the glint of amusement suited the older man more so than his usual stoic demeanor.

"Hello Lt. Caine." She meekly greeted, slightly embarrassed to find herself thinking about her boss in such manner.

Horatio just merely smiled then stepped aside, giving the petite woman room to move. She gave the Lieutenant an appreciative smile before she quickly punched into the computer her search perimeter. Once that was completed, Maxine Valeria turned around and gave her complete attention to her boss, who in turn bowed his head slight in recognition and approval, which made the young Lab Technician beam with pride. Ever since Lt. Caine had fought to keep the young woman on his team, she felt it was her mission to show the older man that he did not make a mistake in keeping her.

"Is there something I can do for you, Sir?" Max respectfully asked.

"There is." Horatio quietly replied as he handed her the envelope that he had received from Jerome. "I need you to run a sample."

"Of course!" Max replied as she took the envelope. "Is this related to a case?"

Horatio shook his head, which made the young woman look around nervously.

"Maxine, please, I need you to run this sample." Horatio asked once more.

Maxine knew that there were only two people whom the redhead would entrust to do this favor for him, and at the moment Natalia Boa Vista had just finished working on another case. And Max knew this, which made her smile at the realization that the Lieutenant had come to her first as she nodded her head.

"Is there anything specific that you want me to look for?" She asked as she turned to her work station.

"Tox and DNA." Horatio replied, "And could you run the DNA, please?"

The redhead hoped that by running the DNA through state and federal databases then perhaps they would be able to find either this mysterious woman's identity or perhaps find a living relative.

"Right away, Sir!"

"Thank you, Max." Horatio stated then left the petite woman to her work.

Max watched the redhead leave before she carefully opened the plain envelope. As she peered inside, the young woman immediately wondered what had caused a once pristine white handkerchief to be dyed vermilion.

* * *

Later that morning, a massive silver Hummer pulled to a stop in front of a simple one story bungalow. All around, uniformed police officers hustled and bustled to secure the area and were busy conducting field interviews of the surrounding neighbors.

The cul de sac was like any other Miami neighborhood. All the homes were set in a horseshoe pattern. All the lawns looked professionally kept by one of the many lawn maintenance businesses that littered Miami. Some of the homes had cars sitting in the driveway while others were littered with forgotten children's bikes. All in all there was not much to describe the area. It was a neighborhood that _should _be hosting a block party rather than hosting Miami-Dade Police Department and Crime Lab.

Slowly Horatio stepped out of his comfortably air conditioned Hummer and quickly secured his famous shades on his face. Instantly the redhead felt the surrounding humidity lick at his flesh, causing his clothes to press against his figure and revealing a well-built, lean physique that the redhead preferred to keep hidden. After a few seconds, Horatio started to approach the shaded home and began to feel his dark clothes to set more appropriately around his slender frame. After he quickly signed his name on the crime scene log with the young patrolman, who stood at the assigned entry point, Horatio nimbly slipped under the all-too-familiar yellow 'Crime Scene' tape and continued up the walkway toward a heavyset male dressed in a beige suit.

The big Texan was standing in front of the front door and was speaking with two Paramedics, who looked like they would rather be anywhere else but there, being grilled by the gruff Detective.

"Okay." The typical Texan twang echoed in the bald man's voice, "so you went in about 1113. Then what?"

"We heard the girl screaming for help." The obviously senior of the two stated, "We entered the house and found her trying to give the guy CPR…"

"And?" The Texan asked with his usual no-nonsense demeanor.

"It was like from that movie… Angels and Demons…" The younger Paramedic mumbled, which caused the Detective to look up curiously.

"Meaning?"

The younger Paramedic winced when he saw his partner's glare. He had not meant to say it out loud, but he had no way to describe it. Then he began to tell the Detective how every time the young woman breathed into the deceased, two little fountains of blood would spurt out from the victim's punctured chest. It was obvious that the young woman was in shock and could not fathom that the young man was dead. Probably had been when she initially found him, but only the ME could really determine that.

Even though the Detective hated it when witnesses used any sort of pop-culture reference to describe anything, he had to mentally admit that was probably the best description he had ever received in regards to any crime scene, especially since he had seen the movie as well.

"Thanks. You're good to go." The Texan nodded, "If we have any further questions, we'll be in touch."

The Detective quickly jotted down a couple more comments into his notepad as he turned around to wait for the lead CSI, Crime Scene Investigator, to show up. He knew that he did not have to wait too long; however, when he finally looked up, the big man found himself jumping back a bit in surprise.

"Jesus, H!" The bald man growled, "Make some damn noise!"

Horatio bowed his head at the slight admonishment. He had not meant to startle the no-nonsense Texan. It was a habit that he learned in childhood, and one he had yet been able to break.

"I'll try next time." Horatio replied while he faintly smiled; however, the Texan just shook his head, knowing that it was not going to happen. "What do we have, Frank?"

Frank Tripp just sighed then flipped a few pages of his notepad to the beginning of his notes.

"The Vic's name is Ronald Leydecker. Age thirty-nine. A professor at Miami U. Teaches an anthropology class on… 'religious practices of the Buenos Islands'." Frank muttered as he made a face before continuing, "He was found by his roommate. That's her, over there." The Texan nodded his head toward the young woman, who was still trembling violently, covered in the victim's blood as she sat with a patrolman, giving him her statement. "She called 911 at about 1109. First responders showed up about four minutes later, but called it in as soon as they saw the guy's wounds."

Horatio nodded as he listened to the Detective then slowly the redhead entered the forever more silent house with the burly man following behind. As the pair walked inside, Horatio removed his shades and secured them on their customary place, around his neck. While his sharp glacier ice blue orbs observed the quaint home, Horatio could not help but be amazed at how easily acts of violence can change everything. It was not hard for the redhead to imagine the young man going about his day without realizing that it would be his last.

Horatio could mentally picture Ron getting up earlier that morning because he had a lecture to give or perhaps had office hours in the morning. And after completing his morning rituals, Ron had most likely gone to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, which Horatio faintly scented was burning now, and then Ron probably stepped outside to get the morning paper, which the Lieutenant absently noted was thrown across the floor. A small frown marred the criminalist's face as he realized that was when Ron's killer had probably strike.

Horatio then turned his attention to the young man lying on the living room floor. The carpeting was once a creamy-beige color; now it was stained with bright red. Horatio's frown became more pronounced as his mind conjured the morbid image of a bleeding rose, blooming beneath Ron's decaying corpse. Slowly Horatio approached the still form then he respectfully knelt on one knee as he observed Ron's face.

Ron's brown eyes just stared blankly at the remorseful redhead. Horatio knew and understood that death was part of life, but he felt the deep pain of sorrow with each violent scene he worked. He could feel the victims' pain, fears, and regrets and outrage as if those emotions were his own. Horatio continued to stare into Ron's dead eyes, ignoring the bloody wounds that littered the young man's body in favor of hearing the faint whispers of Ron's presence.

"H?" Frank's southern drawl drew the redhead's attention away from Ron.

Twin glaciers looked up and gave off an eerie glow that the Detective more often than not brushed it off as his imagination to save his own sanity. Frank knew that it would not be the first time he would see the strange illumination of the redhead's blue eyes, and he knew it would not be the last time. The southern man just hated seeing that strange glow whenever the quiet, older man looked at a deceased. He may not believe in any superstitious mumbo-jumbo, but there had been a few times, that the Texan would sear on the Bible and God, that their victims would begin talking to the redhead if the Lieutenant stared for too long.

Horatio had lost the faint whispers that brushed teasingly against his ears when he heard his friend's voice. The redhead was not upset at the interruption for he knew that he would hear the whispers again when he would go to autopsy for the official report from the Medical Examiner. Besides he could never be upset at the Texan whenever the Detective called him away from the whispers. Even though Frank had never said it, Horatio knew that the other male had seen the strange glow of his eyes, and the redhead knew that it unnerved the other greatly. Horatio never really knew why his eyes held that unnatural glow, but he knew what they were… well, at least, he knew what his mother had called them… Fay Eyes, or Faerie Eyes - eyes that can see the truth.

"What do you think?" Frank asked.

Slowly Horatio stood up as he pulled his shades free from his neck.

"We won't know until Ms. Price arrives." Horatio replied then cantered his head to the side as he heard the faint clicking sound of high heels.

"Ms. Price." The redhead soberly greeted, causing the Texan to look up.

Standing a tad too close to the reserve Lieutenant, for the redhead's comfort and the Detective's piece of mind, was a beautiful young woman with a deep bronze glow that revealed her African-American heritage. Her flowing brown hair and doe-brown eyes also revealed her Latina heritage. Tara Price was a woman that many men at the Lab and at the Station wanted to have; however, it was obvious by the flirtatious smile she was throwing at the stoic redhead's direction that she was interested in only one person.

"Good Morning, Horatio!" She purred.

Despite still being indoors, Horatio put his sunglasses back on then walked around the young woman without a second thought.

"Eric and Ryan will work with this one." Horatio stated over his shoulder before existing the bungalow.

Frank just nodded, knowing that the redhead did not see it.

Frank sighed in understanding at the redhead's sudden departure. In the past, when Alexx Woods was their Medical Examiner, Horatio would stay until he got a preliminary report from Alexx or until one of his team members arrived to take over the case. However, since Alexx left to be more involved with her children, especially her son, the team was so far batting zero in regards to MEs. Their first ME, after Alexx left, was gunned down on her first day on the job, which left them with _her_, Tara Price.

Oh sure, there was no doubt that she was superb examiner, or else Horatio would not have reluctantly accepted her as their ME. However, it was her personality that rubbed everyone the wrong way. And then naturally, there was also her blatant flirting with the Lieutenant. For the most part, Horatio just either ignored her or avoided her while the others were hard pressed not to slap her silly.

"Hey Missy." Frank drawled, being one of those hard pressed, especially when he noted how the young ME was eyeing the retreating redhead.

The young woman turned around with indignation at being called 'missy'.

"He's the one you should be focusing on." Frank remarked as he pointed to the victim.

Tara coolly glared at the heavyset Detective as she knelt down next to the corpse, careful not to get blood on her new pant suit.

No further words were passed between the two of them while a heavy tension settled over the room until…

"Well that explains that." A new voice quietly mumbled, signaling the arrival of two other officers.

Frank looked up to see a dark-skinned male openly frowning at the kneeling ME. Eric Delko never bothered to hide his distrust of the beautiful ME, after all she was pursuing _his_ brother-in-law. It was not that the young Cuban-Russian was against Horatio dating again. In fact, he _encouraged_ it… if Horatio took an interest to anyone. It had been four years since Marisol's death, and the quiet redhead was still in mourning and would probably be for the rest of his life. Everyone on the team knew that and respected it; however, this pretty little leech seemed to have somehow got it into her head that _she_ could heal Horatio's pain. If Eric was really honest with himself, he doubted that his brother-in-law would ever date another woman seriously again.

"Morning Frank!" Eric's partner greeted from behind the casually dressed Cuban-Russian-American.

"Ryan." Frank replied as he quietly observed the two men. It never ceased to amaze him whenever he saw the two together. To any casual observer, Eric Delko and Ryan Wolfe looked as if they should never have crossed paths. Eric, the epitome of the ever-growing Cuban community, wore a pair of blue jeans with a nice dress shirt and looked more like a handy-man than one of Miami's top forensic analysts. His black hair was cropped close to the scalp to hide the fact that his hair was naturally curly, and he had a natural tan while Ryan's own pale complexion revealed a-slight sunburn. Ever since he's re-instatement back to the Lab, Ryan could always be seen wearing a comfortable suit with a green shirt and matching tie. The native Floridian's brown hair was gelled back, giving the criminalist a GQ look. All-in-all Ryan could easily pass off for one of Miami's more affluent people rather than an over-worked, underpaid public servant. And despite all the hardship that the pair had faced, they were close and thick as thieves.

"Did Horatio tell y'all?" Frank asked as he moved out of the living room, giving the two criminalists room to work.

"Yeah," Eric replied while Ryan busied himself with photographing the scene, "Ryan and I got this one."

"Yep." Frank acknowledged then stuffed his notepad away, "Now, y'all play nice while I'm gone."

"Yes, Dad." Ryan teased, which caused Eric to grin like a loon and Frank to glare but left nonetheless.

As Frank walked out of the house, he immediately spotted his red-haired counterpart standing in the middle of the green lawn, just observing the wandering neighbors. Suddenly a crooked grin graced the Texan's face as he slowly and silently snuck up behind the redhead. Now, Frank knew that this was not very professional of him, especially since they were at a crime scene; however, he had never seen a more perfect opportunity than now. In the distance, a couple of officers looked up to watch. Each of them wandered if this would be the day…

You see, down at the precinct, there was a running pool to see who can get 'the drop' on the ever-alert Lieutenant, and right now, the pot stood at a whopping seven hundred and fifty dollars! With that money, Frank could help his little girl pay for an overseas school trip to Ireland. Soon, the Texan found himself a few paces behind the still redhead.

The watching officers observed with held-breathes. Each mentally willed the Detective to succeed.

"Francis."

Frank winced.

The officers quickly busied themselves.

And the pot still remained.

Frank hated it whenever the redhead used his proper name. The bald Texan would get flashbacks to St. Agnes' All Boys' Grammar School and to Mother Superior Agnes. And despite the fact that he was an adult, the Detective still shuddered at the thought of the ancient harpy scolding him for one thing or another.

"Horatio." Frank called as he stood next to the redhead, who hid his bemusement behind his shades.

Suddenly a sober ring tone echoed out in the quiet lawn. The tone was nothing really extraordinary. It was just a simple ditty to a classical piece called 'Fuer Elise'. Marisol had programmed one of his old phones four years ago to play this song because she thought the default tone was too boring, and ever since then, Horatio would program his new phone to play that song.

Horatio pulled his phone free from its case.

"Keep me posted, will you?" Horatio asked.

"Sure thing." Frank replied as the redhead looked at the display screen.

**MV911**

Immediately Horatio dialed Max' number, ignoring Frank's curious stares.

It was not uncommon for Horatio to receive notification of another crime scene while still at one, and if the call was for another case then the Texan knew he would be tagging along.

"Horatio?" Max answered before the phone could complete a full ring.

Instantly Horatio tensed when he heard her panic.

"Max, what's wrong?" A hundred and one different things popped into Horatio's mind, ranging from his Lab being besieged in a maelstrom of bullets by his enemies to Internal Affairs Agent Richard Stetler finding out about the lab work the redhead had wanted done.

"Oh god! Sir, I don't know what I did wrong! I ran it three times, but I got the same results each time! I must have messed up! That's it! Because there's no way that these results are right! But! I did it three times! That's it! I messed up! Oh god, Sir! I am so sorry! I'm going to run it again! And this time, I'll do it right! I promise!"

"MAX!" Horatio raised his voice, which effectively startled his frantic Technician and the Detective standing beside him. "Breath."

"Breathing, sir!" Max obeyed.

Horatio nodded his head in approval as he heard the young woman breathing, more like gulping in air.

"What's going on, H?" Frank whispered.

"Now then," Horatio's voice suddenly held that deep soothing tone, which easily calmed and soothed any and everyone, especially children. "Tell me what you ran three times."

"The DNA profile on the bloody handkerchief." Max' voice was small but calm.

"Good," Horatio praised in reassurance then asked, "The sample from this morning?"

"Yes, sir." She whimpered. At this Horatio frowned. He could _feel_ her fear and confusion.

"Maxine, what is it?" He patiently asked.

"I ran it…" She whispered as if she was afraid any louder than her mistake would be all too real, "Nothing on Codus, which is good…" She mumbled incoherently, and before Horatio could ask another question, she continued, "But I got a hit on the military's database…"

"That's very good, Ms. Valeria." Horatio said very calmly as he suspected he would get a hit on the military database, and then he mentally thought of who he could contact at the nearby military base in order to find the mysterious woman's identity and family.

"And," Max stressed on the word, drawing Horatio out of his thoughts, "on the internal database…"

"An internal hit?" The redhead quietly repeated in surprise.

There was only two possible ways for an internal hit. One being that this mysterious woman of Jerome's worked for Miami-Dade County or the other would be that she was related to someone who did. Either way, this woman had family, and Horatio was determined to find them in order to help her. However, before Horatio could ask 'who', Max spoke again.

"Sir… it's you." Despite the fact that her voice was unbelievably soft, her words were loud and clear.

"What?" Horatio's voice and breathe were lodged in his throat.

"Horatio?" Frank called, startled as he noticed the sudden shocked expression on the redhead's face.

_Not possible… not possible… not possible…_ The mantra echoed over and over as his own mind betrayed him into thinking that it was _her_, but it could not be… _Could it?_

"Maxine…" Horatio's own steady voice was shaky and haggard.

Frank immediately placed a steady hand on the redhead's elbow once the Texan realized that the other man was swaying a bit. Now, Frank was worried, especially since he felt the slight tremors coursing through Horatio's lithe frame.

"I… I want you… I want you to gather everything you have and wait for me in my office. I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, sir." Max quickly replied then hung up.

"Horatio." Frank's own voice suddenly became stern, which was needed to bring the redhead out of his daze. However, before the Texan could give the older man a piece of his mind, Frank was shocked and unnerved by what he saw. The Lieutenant's infamous shades had slipped down his nose to reveal a pair of extremely pale powder blue eyes. Horatio was in shock or was about to go into shock.

"Horatio!" Frank called a little louder than he intended, drawing everyone's attention to them. At the moment, he did not care. His friend was in trouble.

"It's not possible…" Horatio's voice was so small that it frightened the sturdy Detective, "She's alive… she's here…"

"She? She who?" Frank demanded, trying to think of a way to snap his friend out of his daze.

Suddenly as if someone had just thrown the switch, those unholy pale blue gems darkened to a pair of acidic blue fires. Frank instinctively released his hold on the smaller redhead. The Texan knew exactly what those shade of blue eyes meant, and he was not about to be on the receiving end of the Irishman's rage. The last time the Detective saw that particular shade of blue the redhead had disappeared, as did Eric, for several days. Frank did not ask where the brothers had gone to, but he could make a pretty good guess as to where the quiet Lieutenant had disappeared to. Despite Horatio's passive demeanor and almost fragile looking physique, Frank knew very well that the redhead was stronger than he looked. And right now, the said redhead had already placed some distance between himself and the Texan, forcing the middle-aged Detective to hurry after him.

Once Horatio climbed into that damned Hummer, Frank knew that he would never be able to help his friend and that never sat well with the Detective in the past.

Frank managed to catch up with the Lieutenant, realizing that Horatio was on the phone again.

"Jerome!" Horatio began, "Her eyes! What color are her eyes?" Horatio demanded.

"Lt. Caine?" Jerome's sleep-hazed voice questioned.

"Yes." It took every ounce of willpower to refrain from hissing. "Her eyes, Jerome, her eyes."

Frank listened and wondered for the umpteenth time who the hell 'she' was to make the usually reserved Lieutenant to be extremely agitated.

"Blue, sir." Jerome replied, "But not your ordinary blue, ya know… kinda like what huskies have… but more like those white tigers… that deep Siberian blue…"

Horatio lowered his phone as he took a deep breath then slowly brought the device back up.

"Thank you, Jerome."

"Lieutenant!" Jerome shouted before the connection was severed.

"Yes."

"You know her, don't you." Jerome stated rather than asked.

At this, Horatio closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Yes. Yes, I do." He answered honestly.

"I'll meet you there."

"Thank you."

The line then went dead.

Horatio opened the driver's side door, only to be stunned when a hand slammed the door shut. Snapping around, Horatio threw a dangerous glower at the worried Texan, who was dangerously close to the redhead's personal space.

"Francis."

Frank gulped as he heard the underlining threat that Horatio growled out in his name. Frank had never thought to be grateful for being the redhead's friend as he was then, for the Texan could _see_ Horatio's body tense for a strike, but the smaller man had restrained himself upon recognizing the larger officer.

"H." Frank softly called, hoping that he could reach his friend, "What's going on? I want to help."

Slowly Horatio's hard and unforgiving glare softened as the redhead saw the honesty and sincerity that only the Texan was capable of. Horatio gave the barest of nods, which was all the sign the Detective needed. Frank slowly straightened himself out as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Well?" The Texan demanded when Horatio did not immediately begin.

"I… I lost someone…" Horatio's voice was very low, "Someone I had to protect… I thought I had lost her…"

"Okay," Frank quietly replied once he realized that the redhead was not going to say anymore. He was not sure if Horatio did not say more because the redhead did not know more, which Frank highly doubted, or because Horatio was afraid that this was some cruel joke of fate being played on him. The Texan had lost count at how many times that the redhead had found happiness, only to have it rip away from him violently. The Detective honestly believed that if it were not for Kyle and Madison, Horatio's son and niece, the man before him would have disappeared, leaving behind only an empty husk of a human being.

"I'm just a phone call away, ya know." Frank reminded his friend.

"I know, Frank. I know." Horatio replied with a soft smile then climbed into the Hummer.

"Speed-dial 3." Horatio suddenly said as he then sped off back to the Lab.

Frank stood there, stunned, before smiling at the redhead's light tease. It was all he needed to know that the Lieutenant _will_ call if he needed the Texan. Of course, Frank would have to give the criminalist grief for putting his number third on speed-dial.

"Is he alright?" Eric's voice startled the Texan, causing him to turn around and face two very concerned CSIs.

"Dunno." Frank honestly answered as he rubbed a massive hand against his bare scalp. "Just be ready."

* * *

Horatio pulled up to the pristine Miami-Dade Crime Lab a short while later; despite his desire to run code - running with lights and sirens on, the redhead refrained from doing so. He quickly hurried into the grand glass building, ignoring everyone as he rushed to his office. He did not even bother to wait for the elevator as he went straight for the emergency staircase and leapt up the stairs, two to the three steps at a time. Making to his floor in record time, the former Homicide Detective immediately spotted his young Technician waiting for him in his office.

Max sat nervously in the Lieutenant's office while clutching onto two official folders as if the folders had the power to ward off evil. Horatio instantly bound up the small set of stairs that lead to his office in one stride. As Horatio nearly ripped the glass door off of its hinges, Max shot to her feet.

"Lieutenant!" She cried in relief.

"Max." Horatio's calm voice belied the anxiety he felt since receiving her call.

Before he could say another word, Maxine placed one of the two folders in his hands. She knew that he would want to see the DNA profile first before he saw the Toxicology report. If the DNA report was correct, which she did not doubt after she called Horatio, then she knew that her boss was going to be _furious_… beyond furious after he read the Tox report.

"Thank you." Horatio whispered as he slowly opened the report.

The report contained two DNA profiles. His own and _her's_. And there it was… in black and white, the proof he needed to know that _she_ was still alive!

_Seraphim._

"Sir…" Maxine whispered.

Glacier blue orbs peered up to see the young woman nervously lick her dry lips.

"There's no mistake?" She meekly asked.

"No, there isn't… She's alive." Horatio answered with fondness.

"Oh god…" Max paled in horror.

"Maxine? What is it?"

Her hands shook violently as she held out the second report.

Horatio took the report from her and slowly opened the seemingly innocent brown folder. As he read the report, his eyes grew wide and pale as blood drained from his complexion.

"This… this can't be right." Horatio whispered in denial.

"I checked. Double-checked. Triple-checked…" Max whimpered, "I can't believed it's… how could this have happened? Why?"

Horatio did not know, but he was going to find out! This so-called doctor was going to pay!

* * *

"Excuse me, Col. Peacecraft?" A quiet voice called as she knocked on the door.

"Are you sure?" A handsome blonde asked into the phone while he signaled his secretary for a moment, "Okay… keep me posted… uh-hunh, thanks."

The blonde Lieutenant Colonel hung up the phone. He sighed deeply before his blue eyes looked up at his pretty receptionist, who took that as a sign to speak.

"Sir, there's a Lieutenant Horatio Caine here to see you. He's -"

"Caine? Here?" Lt. Col. Matthew Peacecraft exclaimed as he shot out of his seat and walked toward his office door.

"Yes, sir!" The secretary replied with a squeak of surprise as the tall officer nearly ran her over in his haste to see his friend.

Col. Peacecraft was the Commanding Officer of the Office of Special Investigations, OSI, the Air Force equivalent to the FBI, in Florida. And on a few occasions the OSI and MDPD, Miami-Dade Police Department, worked together on a few cases that crossed one another's jurisdiction. Of course, more often than not, the two departments would simply share information about cases that they were working on. And despite the good repoire and good co-operations the two departments share, it was always a pleasant surprise to see the quiet top forensic specialist in his office.

"Lt. Caine!" Col. Peacecraft called, causing the redhead in the dark suit to turn around from the window.

Immediately the Lieutenant Colonel knew that something was amiss with the usually calm man. The Lieutenant's usually calm glacier blues were hard with anger and his knuckles were white as they gripped onto a pair of folders tightly. His entire presence screamed rage, and his body was tight, much like a tightly wound coil.

"Trudy, hold all my calls. Lieutenant, this way, please."

"Yes, sir." Trudy answered as she watched the redhead walk past her boss and into his office.

Lt. Col. Peacecraft closed the door behind him and could not help but feel as if he had just trapped himself in a cage with a very large and pissed off tiger.

"Out of respect for you and the uniform you wear, I've come to warn you." Horatio flat out stated.

The Colonel blinked at the sudden bluntness of the Lieutenant's words. Of course, he always had known the redhead to be blunt, and sometimes cryptic when was he was fishing for answers. But this was on a whole another level.

"Warn me? Warn me of what?" The blonde officer asked.

"Someone…" Horatio breathed in deeply to calm himself. He could feel his hot rage threatening to consume his soul at the mere thought that his Seraphim was being used like this. "Someone very special to me is being held hostage at the local veteran's hospital…"

The blonde took a sharp breath before letting out a unofficer-like oath.

At the very colorful and vulgar oath, Horatio blinked in surprised as he mounting rage evaporated by the usually aristocratic-like officer's rather crude words.

"Let me guess, Rumsfield VA?" Lt. Col. Peacecraft asked.

"Yes…" Horatio cautiously answered then straightened in horror. His Sera was not the only one in danger. "How many?"

Peacecraft sighed as he walked over to his desk and picked up the folder.

"There have been three suspicious deaths…" The Colonel began, but the two ominous words _so far_ hung in the air. "The coroner contacted us after she noticed some anomalies in their blood work. She questioned the Director of the hospital, who dismissed her discoveries as a result of faulty readings of her machines. This doctor even went as far as to accuse her of a 'witch-hunt'." Col. Peacecraft growled.

Horatio arched a brow but did not comment about the personal slate that the redhead heard in the blonde's voice.

"After reviewing her notes, I noticed that the levels of drugs in their blood was twice, and for one troop three-times, the recommended dosage. I sent in someone to see if they could gather more evidence because right now, I have circumstantial evidence that won't hold water, even with a sympathetic court."

"Is your man Jerome Hinshaw?" Horatio asked once he was read-in of the situation and knew that the blonde was done speaking.

"Hinshaw?" Lt. Col. Peacecraft frowned then shook his head, "No, my man is undercover as a patient. I didn't even know that Hinshaw was there."

The blonde remembered the young Private. In fact, it was because of his case that the Colonel met the redhead.

"He's working there." Horatio explained as he held out his own folders. "He came to me expressing concerns about one of the patients there."

Lt. Col. Peacecraft opened the folder that was labeled 'Toxicology' and nearly chocked on his own breath as he read the dangerously high levels of sedatives.

"And he's not dead?"

"She… and no, but from what Jerome told me, she would have …" Horatio quietly whispered as he restrained a shudder at the thought of nearly losing his Sera and not even realizing it had it not been for Jerome. "She… tried… tried to purge herself of the drugs…"

"Purge..?" The blonde's brow knitted together in confusion, "You don't mean… cutting?"

"Yes." Horatio solemnly answered, "From what Jerome told me, the person responsible is purposively keeping her the way she is now… he even falsely accused another doctor of sexual assault."

"Wait… are you talking about Doctor Ocascio?"

"Yes." The redhead replied, beginning to hate all of the 'coincidences' of the situation. Of course, he had known that within the military community, it was a small world, but this… this was a bit unnerving, especially since now the Lieutenant Colonel was looking at him with a mix of awe and horror. And the redhead had no idea why. He highly doubted that the blonde knew about his relationship to Seraphim.

"Captain O'Shea."

Glacier blue gems widened in pure shock. _Mother…_ Horatio thought as he felt his chest tightened in pain.

Col. Peacecraft watched in horrified shock as the redhead's glacier blues paled to a shade of pale baby powder blues and his pale complexion become even more bleached. Suddenly instincts kicked in as the blonde lunged forward to catch the staggering civilian. As soon as he held onto the lithe male, the Colonel felt the barely contained tremors.

"Caine!" Peacecraft called, "Breath, Caine. Breath."

Slowly Horatio did as commanded and let himself be lead to a nearby chair.

"That's it, Caine." The blonde encouraged the redhead and was pleased to see some color returning to the other man's eyes and complexion. The Lieutenant Colonel had never seen such a strong reaction of shock before, but he definitely knew now that there was some sort of connection between Captain Seraphim Brennan-O'Shea and Lieutenant Horatio Caine.

* * *

"Goddammit!" Snarled a cruel-looking orderly as he noted the hidden camera within the closed-off garden was destroyed… _again!_ That was the eighth camera that the Subject had destroyed despite the orderly's best attempts to hide the blasted cameras for observation. Fortunately for the Director, after the third camera, all of the video fed were being saved to a connection on the Director's personal computer, rather than him losing hours of raw video data from the camera. Of course, the orderly did not really care about the cameras, the Subject or the data. All he cared about was the two grand pay-off that the Director offered for 'assisting' him, and now, he was going to have to waste more of his money to buy another camera.

The orderly swore again as he looked around in the garden. He was angry, and he wanted to take it out on someone. Preferably on the damned, scarred up freak that the Director was convince was going to make him rich, and subsequently making the orderly very rich too. The large burly man began violently beating the thick brushes and shrubs in the enclosed garden, hoping to scare the little scarred beast out into the open. However, the orderly quickly realized that his prey was not in the brushes, which caused him to frantically look around the garden a second-time, and even a third-time before true realization dawned on him.

"Fuck." The massive male swore as he rushed out of the enclosure, and in his panicked haste, completely forgetting to re-secure the enclosure.

The door to the enclosure slowly swung open but only silence echoed for a few moments before the leaves in the trees gently rustled in the windless breeze.

Suddenly a flash of sea form-green fell from the trees and landed gracefully and without a sound on a lush patch of soft grass. Remaining still as stone, the sea foam-green listened for any sounds of rushing feet before lifting its slightly upturned nose to scent the air, scenting for any signs of danger. When sea foam-green scented none… Slowly sea foam-green bore its fangs in pleasure then sprang into action.

Lunging forward in a flash of sea foam-green, it felt a rush of life and energy, coursing through its veins as it ran for freedom. As the wind ripped through its rough second skin and pelt, it let free a soundless cry of joy and laughter. It was free once again, and this time, it would remain free for it could feel an energy in the air that promised not only freedom but also a tribe!

* * *

"COLONEL!" Bellowed the burly orderly as he barged into a handsome office that obviously belonged to someone of prestige and rank.

The office was large and furnished with beautiful dark mahogany furniture. The back wall was a large glass-pane window that over looked a large pavilion, where patients went to get some fresh air. Of course, not all of the patients were privileged enough to enjoy beauty such as the beautifully cared for pavilion.

Along the walls were bookshelves heavily laden with books and journals on a variety of subjects, mostly psychology and behavioral science. The journals, that he kept, were journals that held his articles specifically. And on the wall opposite of the window, it was littered with framed diplomas, awards and photographs of a distinguished looking officer shaking hands with a variety of celebrities and politicians.

And sitting in front of the glass-window was an overly sized desk. The ambient light surrounded the desk and figure, giving the figure a perceived holistic aura. Empowering the figure sense of self-importance and dominance. After all, _he_ was the Director of the facility, and _he_ was on a major break through of discovering the primitive development of the Id, the primal psyche of the human consciousness as a form of a survival mechanism.

Currently the Director was reviewing a video clip of his Subject and scribbling down a few observations when the burly orderly barged through his door.

"I'm sorry, Director." Pleaded the petite secretary as she attempted to push the man that was not only twice her height but weight as well.

The Director looked annoyed at being interrupted from his study of his Subject. He had just found a fascinating clip of what he perceived was his Subject 'dancing'. The Subject had started out swaying to some unknown melody before slowly going into a series of complicated blocks, punches, kicks and flips. It was then that the Director realized that his Subject was performing a series of complicated katas, material art forms, from muscle memory! It was a breathtaking breakthrough; however, he had lost his train of thought when the orderly had rudely interrupted him.

The Director lowered his glasses as he glared at the large mass of brute strength. The orderly's strength and brute force was the only reason why the Director bothered to enlist the ignorant thug's help. The orderly was the only one, who could subdue the Subject… most of the time.

"It's alright, Sally. Why don't you go and have a nice coffee break?" The Director suggested, which the young woman did not object to. She quickly left the office, closing the door behind her and wandering if she still had a job.

"Now, what is so important that you had to barge in here, Mr. Bush." The Director coolly demanded.

"That bitch escaped the enclosure!" Bush exclaimed in a rush.

"What? How did that happened?" The Director demanded as he stood up.

"Dunno, but when I went to give her her damn food, I went to check on the camera. It was busted again! Then I went to look for her, but she wasn't in the bushes."

"Did you check the trees?" The Director questioned, knowing that his Subject preferred high places for rest.

Bush was silent, which caused the Director to look at the oversized pea-brain buffoon.

"Did you check the trees?" He asked again but already fearing and knowing the answer.

"No, sir…" Bush mumbled, ashamed to admit that he had never bothered. In the past, the overly-muscled orderly had always found the damned freak in the bushes, cowering like some dumb animal.

"You idiot!" The Director bellowed as he marched out of his office with the orderly behind him.

As the Director stormed toward the enclosure-garden, he went over what the orderly had said and what he had observed of his Subject. And although he was angry that the moron had failed to search the trees, the Director was also amazed at his Subject's cunning. The Subject had literally 'trained' the orderly to look in the bushes rather than where the Subject truly preferred to rest, and when Mr. Bush could not find the Subject, he had automatically assumed that the Subject had escaped. It was truly amazing that his primitive Subject was able to fool the southern orderly. It showed that the Subject still retained some levels of higher cognitive functions; however, the Director was confident that his Subject would not be able to fool _him_, a man of exceptionally higher intelligence.

As the pair approached closer to the enclosure, the Director immediately realized that his Subject had indeed escaped rather than was just hiding. The Director quickly turned around and returned into the building.

"Security!" The Director bellowed into the nearest house phone, "Patient 89523 has just escaped! I want a full lock down! And I want that patient found… NOW!"

The Director slammed the phone on its cradle, and smiled in mild satisfaction as soon as he heard the warning sirens and lights blaring to life, alerting all personnel of his escaped Subject. He was fortunate that he had managed to get rid of all those who objected to his research. All save for one, who had the day off, but really was of little consequence. He mentally sneered at his oppositions protest of his demeaning treatment of _his_ Subject. He had not demeaned his Subject. His Subject received the best of care, and his research of his Subject's behavior would help future soldiers to ensure their own survival in captivity by the enemy. He was not denying his Subject the basic essentials. His Subject was clothed, fed and had the beautiful enclosure as shelter. In fact, his Subject had better living conditions under _his_ care than his Subject had in the cruel mountains of Afghanistan, where the Subject was found. And of course, the Director did not torture his Subject as opposed to what his Subject's captors did.

_Well, no matter… I'll have you back soon enough, my little Pet._ The Director thought as he returned to his office and waited for news of his Subject's return.

After all, she had no where to go. He had made sure of that.

* * *

The sleek and powerful Hummer pulled into the front of Rumsfield Veteran's Hospital and quickly two individuals climbed out of the large vehicle. As soon as they had stepped out of the silent vehicle, their ears became assaulted by the wailing sounds of the hospital's alarms. Immediately the pair was greeted by a young man and a slightly heavy-set Detective, who had with him several uniformed officers for back-up.

"Lieutenant Caine! We have a problem!" Jerome exclaimed over the loud roar.

It was then that the young Marine saw Lieutenant Colonel Peacecraft and immediately stood at attention.

"Lieutenant Colonel, Sir!"

"At ease, Marine! What the hell is going on?"

"She escaped! They're doing a full lock down!" Jerome explained, which caught the redhead and the blonde by surprise.

"H! What's going on?" Frank demanded. He did not question his friend's call for back-up when the redhead had called earlier. Of course, the Texan also did not expect that they would be going to a military hospital.

"This is Seraphim O'Shea!" Horatio began as he handed a photograph of a young woman to his friend and his officers, "She's being held hostage here! And being abused! We're getting her out! If you find her, approach her cautiously and contact me ASAP! We don't have much time! Now, GO!"

Immediately the officers and the two uniformed officers dispersed to find the missing woman. It did not escape Frank's notice that the woman in the photo shared the same intense soul-piercing gaze as his friend. The Southerner may not know the true extent of the two's relationship, but he knew that Horatio would and will go to any lengths to save and protect this woman. Frank was just happy that Horatio trusted him enough to ask him for help on this, and because of that trust, Frank vowed to himself that he would not fail his friend.

Horatio watched as the others ran off in various directions in search of the missing young woman. He took a moment to calm his racing heart for he needed all of his focus on finding his Seraphim, which he suspected was not going to be an easy task. From what the blonde Colonel had told him, his Sera was specifically trained in evasions tactics. She was the Air Force's best in search and rescue, and it was because of her and her unit that many US soldiers, who were either trapped behind enemy lines or were captured by the enemy, were able to come home safely. In fact, his Seraphim was a _hero_! And this was how Director Guy Gibbons treated her!

The redhead suddenly shook his head. He could not think about that man. He had to find Seraphim first! Horatio made a move to follow behind Jerome when he felt a sudden presence in his heart and soul; it was as if a void was being slowly filled with a sense of completeness. A small frown marred his face as he turned around and saw a small outcrop of trees along the hospital's property. The Lieutenant did not give it much thought as he quickly followed the slowly-filling presence in his heart and soul. Instinctively he knew that Seraphim was there and was waiting for him.

_I'm coming._

* * *

"Hey, Corporal," A young man called as he followed two of his friends into the grove of trees.

"Yeah…" Replied a young man with a prosthetic leg.

"You sure the Captain is here?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's the only place ideal for cover." The young Corporal responded as he and his friends quietly walked through the trees.

"I'd be happier is she left entirely." The third young man mumbled, which caused the other two to look at him suspiciously.

"You know she won't leave, especially if it meant leaving _us_ behind in this hell hole." The Corporal stated with conviction.

The third man raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender.

"I know that! But with everything that she's been through! I just wish she be a bit selfish, you know!"

"That…" A soft, deep, soothing voice began, causing the three young men to snap around in surprise, "is not in her nature."

The three young men were tense as they observed the red-haired stranger, who had effortlessly snuck up on them. The older man was of average height and looked fragile in his dark suit, but the way he carried himself indicated that he was a man of power. And yet despite the presence of power that screamed from his lithe frame, the redhead also exuded an aura of calm and pose. Slowly the stranger lowered his sunglasses from his face and revealed twin pools of the most intense glacier blue eyes.

One by one, each of the young men looked at the strange redhead gobsmacked. They knew those eyes!

Slowly a small yet shy smile graced the stranger's face as his eyes lifted up into the trees and were locked in a gaze with a pair of bright Siberian blue.

"Hello Seraphim."


	3. Chapter 3

FF 102 "Blood"

"Hello Seraphim." Horatio quietly whispered as his glacier blue orbs were locked with a pair of beautiful Siberian blues.

Those soul piercing gems slowly blinked with a slight tilt of her head to the side.

"Who are you!" Demanded the young Corporal as he instinctively took a step forward, protecting not only his two comrades but also the hidden Captain within the trees.

Horatio lowered his gaze as he looked at the three soldiers in front of him. The young Corporal could be no older than his own nineteen year old son, Kyle. He was of average height and build, and although he had a prosthetic leg, the redhead could see that the young Hispanic soldier still carried his weight on his right leg, as if not quite accustom to the prosthetic. The Corporal's hair was short, not the traditional military crew cut, which meant it had been awhile since the young man had a haircut. His dark brown eyes never wavered from Horatio's gaze. The Lieutenant lightly smiled at the soldier.

"My name is Horatio Caine." Horatio answered, "I'm with the Miami-Dade Crime Lab."

The three soldiers frowned.

"Why are you here?" The Private asked, "I mean no one's dead."

"…not yet…" Muttered the third solider as he watched the civilian warily.

"I'm here for Seraphim." The redhead honestly answered then returned his gaze to the trees.

Siberian blues just continued watching the scene blow.

"And what do you want the Captain for!" The Corporal demanded hotly.

"Yeah! How do you know her name?" The Private questioned immediately, while the third soldier remained quiet and observing.

A thin red bow arched as Horatio looked at the three soldiers curiously. With a slight tilt of his head, the Lieutenant was curious as to what brought such hostile and yet protective demeanor out of the three soldiers. Suddenly the redhead arched his brow again as he sensed a wave of pride and a bit of amusement in the air. _She finds this amusing?_ The pale criminalist mentally guessed.

"To answer your questions," The older man patiently replied, "I want to take her out of here, and as for her name… I know it because I was the one who named her."

Silence fell over them and became thick as the three soldiers' eyes grew wide in surprise. Using the soldiers' surprise, Horatio approached closer to the tree where Seraphim was hiding. Shedding his blazer from his form, the redhead rolled his sleeves up and placed his sunglasses around his neck. Taking a deep breath, the Lieutenant began climbing up the tree.

The three soldiers blinked out of their daze and just simply watched the older man as he effortlessly climbed up the oak tree and perched himself on a thick tree branch. The redhead took a deep breath to push away his muscles' protest at the workout. It amazed the criminalist to notice a vast difference between climbing a tree versus a two hour workout at the Crime Lab's gym. His muscles ached, but in a good way. Looking around, Horatio frowned when he realized that Seraphim was nowhere to be seen.

The redhead looked around, looked down then looked up. It was then he saw a slender blur of sea-foam green drop down onto his branch. The branch shook violently at the added weight. Instinctively the pale man held onto the branch in fear of falling. After a few moments, the Lieutenant released his hold and sat straight up. His glacier blue orbs became locked with a pair of Siberian blue gems. His breath lodged in his throat as he looked upon the beautiful creature in front of him.

Captain Seraphim Brennan-O'Shea was crouched before Horatio with a graceful stillness that reminded the criminalist of a large cat… although hunched over, the redhead instantly knew that the quiet woman was very petite, about 5 foot one and a little over a hundred pounds. Her thin physique and small stature reminded the Lieutenant of his late mother, who too was slender and small. While Caitlin Caine nee O'Shea was almost doll-like in her physique, Seraphim's Siberian blue gems, partially hidden by locks of dark brown hair with natural hidden red highlights, revealed nothing fragile or doll-like about her. Nor did the scars that riddled her copper complexion suggest that the quiet woman was fragile.

Silently she approached closer to Horatio, who remained absolutely still. His ice glacier blue orbs just observed her as the redhead noted at how tense her muscles were. _So much like a cat._ The pale criminalist thought while reminding himself to keep not only still but also expressionless. As the cautious creature came closer, the Lieutenant could see more definitely the scars that marred the beautiful woman's flesh. Cigarette burns. Bullet wounds. Slashes from either a knife, whip or even both. Mentally the pale man wondered which one of the scars along Seraphim's forearm was the one that had nearly killed her, almost robbing him of the chance to finally be re-united with his precious Sera.

Suddenly Horatio's vision became filled with Siberian blue and sea-foam green, the bland colored scrubs that the soundless woman wore. For a long moment, the two only stared at one another, neither saying a word. It did not even bother the redhead that Sera had slipped into his personal space, or that she sat so close to him that he could pick up the scent of her shampoo. Nor did he questioned his lack of response, especially since he remembered that it took his beloved late wife, Marisol, nearly a month to be able to be this close to the quiet redhead without causing a reaction out of him when they were dating. For Horatio, Seraphim's place was naturally by his side, as natural as breathing.

The Lieutenant then gave the stealthy creature a soft smile, which she returned with a childish grin. And then in a blink of an eye, the redhead let out a hearty laugh as he watched the petite creature don on his infamous sunglasses. While the shades looked natural and were a perfect fit for him, the dark glasses looked ridiculously big on her. Adding more to her waif-like appearance.

A soft hissing sound echoed around them, catching the Lieutenant's attention. Horatio felt the blood drain from his complexion when he noticed a troubling scar. Seraphim had raised her head high to keep the sunglasses perched on her nose, revealing her throat. Subconsciously a shaky hand rose and slowly reached out to touch her exposed throat. In a flash, the redhead's wrist was caught in an iron grip with nails slightly dug in as a warning. Glacier blues peered into Siberian blue gems.

The grip relaxed, allowing Horatio to fully reach out and touch the faint, razor thin scar across her throat. A soft thumb pad gently caressed the slightly raised scar. Horatio then cupped the back of Sera's head and pulled her into his chest, wrapping her tiny frame with his own strong arms. The redhead felt the slender physique tense at the Lieutenant's sudden movement. He knew that he should not have moved so quickly, and that he might have broken what fragile trust he had developed during those precious few moments before, but he could not help himself. Because he just realized what this scar and that hissing sound had meant… it meant that he would never hear his Seraphim speak! Her throat! Someone had attempted to slit her throat and ended up damaging her vocal cords. She would never speak again, never speak to him and would never tell him about her life!

* * *

Sea-foam green knew that she did not have much time before the Hairless-One would retrieve the Hyena-Lead. She knew that the other Hyenas would be of no help to her as they were a cowardly lot as their namesakes, and she knew that she could not risk the Fallen Tribe to help her. The Fallen Tribe would need _her_ help to fight off the Hyenas, just as many of the Fallen Ones had needed her in the Mountain of Pain and Blood.

"Captain!" A hoarse voice hissed, causing sea-form green to crouch low and bare her fangs.

But she easily calmed down when she recognized one of her Wheeled-One, Tim Seven-nee. Instantly she was beside Tim, whose brown eyes were wide. Her Wheeled-One reached out to touch her, and she reached out to touch him. Seven-nee's eyes became wet as she wrapped her arms around his shoulder. She ran her hands over his arms and torso, sensing and feeling for any new injuries and was pleased to find none. She ran her hands through Tim's dark locks, gently removing tangles that plagued his thick curls, and took a deep breath, took in his scent. His scent, although sharp like the Hyena's den, was clean and welcoming, no signs of hidden sickness. This pleased her.

Suddenly the Hyena's den became loud, causing sea-form green to cover her ears and let out a voiceless cry. Her Wheeled-One quickly gathered her tiny body into his lap. Seven-nee was clever. The Hyenas were wrong when they said that he was not because of his head injury. He quickly moved to the window and swiftly opened it. Gently and yet urgently her Wheeled-One attempted to push her out of the window.

"GO! GO!" Tim screamed over the loud Hyena Cry. "GO! RUN!"

Sea-foam green perched precariously on the window sill with one hand of her ear. Pained Siberian blues looked at Seven-nee.

"Please! GO! Run!" Seven-nee cried and gave her one final push.

Stumbling out of the second story window, she landed on her feet and scrambled away. She easily crossed the perfectly cut lawn and through the brushes before finding a comfortable tree to climb into. Her heart thundered in her chest as she took a deep breath to calm herself. A wind gently blew by, causing the leaves to rustle, and the air was filled with the scents of the Fallen Ones and the Hyenas. Suddenly her attention became focused when a new scent teased at her senses.

The calm scent overpowered the chaos that surrounded her. It carried a subtle spice and musk that marked the scent as male. There was even a dash of earthy tones that marked the male as an elder and as an alpha, and there was also the scent of a warm ocean breeze… but the ocean itself was far away. There was also something familiar about the scent, the scent of an ocean flower. The scent not only was it calming but it also spoke of Kin.

Siberian blues slowly blinked. Gracefully she laid down on the sturdy tree branch and looked past the leaves to see a cluster of outsiders on the black earth. Among the outsiders, she recognized her Healer Cub. Her Healer Cub had helped her when her blood refused to stop. Her Healer Cub was speaking with an elder, an elder whose pelt was red as fire. The Fire-Fur held himself proudly and yet humbly.

The Fire-Fur's dark second skin looked like armor, protecting him from demons. His flesh was pale but with a hint of sun-touched cheeks. The Fire-Fur was an Outsider. He was not of the Hyena nor of the Fallen Tribe.

Then the outsiders began to run away, but the Fire-Fur remained still. He slowly turned around, but his eyes were covered by black glass. With unseen eyes, she knew that the Fire-Fur had found her. Without hesitation, Fire-Fur began to come to her.

Suddenly a snap drew her attention, Siberian blue orbs glared down at the intruders of her sanctuary then her eyes softened once she saw the three invaders. More Fallen Ones… and an Outside Fallen One… a Fallen with one leg… she did not know who the One Leg was, but she knew that he was no threat to the others… the One Leg, although young, was an alpha that the others willingly followed, and she knew that he would make a great Alpha of his own Band one day. The One Leg was strong and sly, even against the Hyenas. The One Leg was clever and spoke to another… another on the outside… she smiled to herself as she knew that the One Leg was against the Hyenas.

"Captain." The One Leg called as he led the two Fallen Ones into the grove.

"You sure the Captain is here?" A Fallen One asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's the only place ideal for cover." The One Leg responded.

"I'd be happier if she left entirely." Suddenly the Fallen One raised his hands when the other two glared at him.

"You know she won't leave, especially if it meant leaving _us _behind in this hell hole." The One Leg growled.

"I know that! But with everything that she's been through! I just wish she be a bit selfish, you know!"

"That is not in her nature." The Fire-Fur!

The Fire-Fur was there! His voice was calm, soothing and strong.

"Hello Seraphim."

Siberian blue orbs blinked slowly. The Fire-Fur knew her! His scent… It was his scent that had teased her senses. It carried the mark of Kin. They were Kin! And he was Alpha! Her Alpha! The Fire-Fur's eyes were blue like ice but not cold… warm like fire. She nodded to herself… Fire-Fur was of fire. He was warm and guiding. He would keep the darkness away. He would keep her safe, she knew it.

Fire-Fur then removed his second pelt, revealing another second pelt. She watched as Fire-Fur rolled his sleeves up. She smiled. He truly was a fire-fur. She then blinked once again. A glint of gold caught her eye… a gold shield against black… Miami-Dade Police Department… a low rumble vibrated deep in the back of her throat… a Guardian! Her Fire-Fur was a Guardian, a Shield and a Sword… as she once was…

Her Fire-Fur began climbing her tree. Feeling playful, she hid further up in the tree and watched as he settled on to the branch. Fire-Fur was looking for her. She then jumped down, causing the branch to shake. Her Fire-Fur was startled but made no sound of exclamation. He remained still, allowing her the time to approach him on her own accord. Her Fire-Fur was truly smart.

Slowly she approached closer. Enjoying his strong scent, enjoying the smell of Kin which seem to coil around her tense form and relax her. She could feel the tension between her shoulder blades begin to disappear. She moved closer and closer then she noticed the black glass around her Fire-Fur's neck. Curious, she swiftly plucked the black glass and then placed them on her own face. The black glass gave everything a charcoal-black tint.

Her Fire-Fur laughed. It was a beautiful sound to her, and she got the sense that her Fire-Fur did not laugh often. She would have to fix that. Her Fire-Fur deserved to be happy.

Suddenly she felt movement, and her hand snapped out, catching his hand as it came for her flesh. Siberian blue orbs glared into his Ice Fire gems. His orbs were soft with pain and concern. It was then she knew what caused that pain and concern. Her mark… the mark and much like the others on her body came from the Mountain of Pain and Blood. This mark was given to her by a young Mountain Warrior… it was to be the Mountain Warrior's initiation into the Mountain Clan… kill her and become one of them… become one of them and his family was secure… that was the common story for many of the Mountain Children…

Slowly she loosened her grip, knowing that her Fire-Fur would not harm her. His touch was steady as he caressed the old scar. Then with speed, which even surprised her, her Fire-Fur enveloped her in an embrace. She tensed as dark memories cloud her mind but soon a warm scent filled her lungs… the smell of warm ocean breeze with a gentle earthy musk of sand, her Kin's unique scent. Her eyes closed without her consent and instinctively she took more of her Fire-Fur's scent into her as her own slender yet strong arms wrapped themselves around his own tense form…

Horatio gasped in relief as he tightened his hold on his precious Seraphim. She did not reject him! She accepted him! And he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his soul. He felt that everything about himself had been washed clean just by Seraphim's embrace. The Lieutenant knew in his mind that the abuse he had suffered by his father's hand was not _his_ fault and yet his heart still carried the shame of it… but now, in that instant… in her slender and scarred arms, the redhead felt at peace… she accepted him!

"Oh," Horatio whispered into her ear, "Seraphim… I'm so sorry…"

Siberian blue orbs blinked in confusion as she heard the plea. She slipped her arms in front of her and gasped her Fire-Fur's face, forcing him to look at her. She simply stared into the vast glacier ice blue gems and frowned. She did not understand why her Fire-Fur would plea to her. Her marks were not of his doing. Her marks showed that she was a warrior, and she was proud of them. She was proud of them because each mark represented another warrior's life that she had protected. She sighed deeply. Her Fire-Fur held a pain deeper than her own wounds, and deep within her, she did not like that… in fact, something deeper and far more primal than what she was now raged against the thought that her Fire-Fur was pained. Her nails dug lightly into his scalp as she grounded them both in each other's presences.

Her Fire-Fur did not need to remember his pain, and she did not need the rage. They both were still in the Hyenas' territory, and they both needed their focus on escaping the Hyenas.

Horatio closed his eyes when he felt her claw-like nails dig into his flesh. He rested his forehead against her's, feeling safe and secure.

"We have much to discuss." Horatio whispered then placed a light kiss on her forehead.

Siberian blues blinked slowly as she wrinkled her nose, which caused her Fire-Fur to chuckle lightly.

"But first," Horatio spoke a little louder then looked down to see the three soldiers were still down below, trying to give them some semblance of privacy, "we need to get you away from here and somewhere safe."

"And where do you think you're going to take her?" The Corporal demanded as he crossed his arms across his chest.

Horatio arched a thin red brow then looked at Seraphim when he heard an exasperated sigh coming from her.

Siberian blue gems just coolly stared at the One Leg, who dared challenged her Fire-Fur.

"Where I take her is none of your concern." Horatio said, unaware that his Fey Eyes began to glow at the challenge.

The three soldiers became still as stone.

Fear wafted off of the three soldiers, and she bared her fangs in pleasure at how well her Fire-Fur answered the challenge. Firm but fair… Markings of a good Alpha.

"Several of my friends are here, " Horatio continued, this time with a softer tone, "to help me rescue Seraphim. I would greatly appreciate it if you would go and find them, and let them know that I have her."

"And who are your friends?" The Corporal continued to challenge; however, the challenge was not as potent as before.

"Peacecraft." The redhead simply said.

Siberian blues blinked as she noted the three Fallen Ones' comical expressions. Looking at her Fire-Fur, she found herself smiling at his small, dark smile. Whoever this Peace-craft was, he was someone of position and to claim a companionship with him revealed that her Fire-Fur was also someone of position… much more than just a simple Guardian.

"Colonel Peacecraft?" The Corporal quietly questioned to which Horatio only nodded. Immediately the young man turned to his comrades, "Come on!"

"What about the Captain?"

"I think if the civvie was a threat, the Captain would have taken care of him." The Corporal stated blandly as he threw a guarded look at the pair.

Horatio had a small frown as he saw the guarded look. It confused the Lieutenant as to why the Corporal would have the look of longing. The redhead glanced down at his Seraphim to see if he could find the answer to the Corporal's behavior, but her expression was unreadable as she looked beyond their little grove.

"Seraphim?" The lithe Irishman whispered as he cupped his hand against her cheek. Suddenly Seraphim took a deep breath.

"Seraphim," Horatio called again, causing her to face him, "Are you alright?"

Siberian blue gems slowly blinked before she leaned forward, pressing her nose against his.

Horatio owlishly blinked before he gave his precious Seraphim a small smile.

"You'll be free soon." The Lieutenant promised then looked back down, "But first, we need to get down…"

From the corner of his eye, the redhead noted an impish grin on her face. Looking up and arched a thin brow, he was curious as to what she was up to.

"Sera-SERAPHIM!" Horatio cried out as he watched his precious Seraphim lean her body over the branch, allowing gravity take hold and drop her to the ground.

Glacier ice blue orbs widened as he watched her fall but not to her death…

* * *

Her Fire-Fur was speaking to the three Fallen Ones. She knew that the three Fallen Ones were worried about her safety, but she knew that her Fire-Fur would never allow harm to come to her. She left her Fire-Fur in charge while her Siberian blue orbs caught sight of one of the Hyenas. She knew this particular Hyena… he was more a gorilla than a hyena, but whatever he was, he was threat.

The Hyena-Lead used the big Hairless-One to keep her caged. The Hairless-One was strong. She would not deny that, but the Hairless-One was undisciplined. He was all rage. He carried an anger that she could not understand, and he would at times attack the weaker Fallen Ones, like Seven-nee. She remembered more often than not coming between the Hairless-One and his prey, especially on days that she had escaped her cage. And he was also without honor.

He had stolen from her and others. He had stolen her name, and she wanted it back!

She saw him leave the Hyena's den and go toward a smaller and older building. The building of broken things… she knew that her name was there, and she would have it back!

"Seraphim?" Her Fire-Fur whispered from the darkness.

A warm and rough hand gently caressed her cheek. A waft of ocean breeze and earthy musk teased her nose, drawing her further out of the darkness.

"Seraphim," His calm voice was a beacon in the darkness, "Are you alright?"

Her Fire-Fur was worried, worried for her. She leaned forward and lightly pressed her nose against his, letting him know that she was out of the darkness.

"You'll be free soon." He smiled then looked down, "But first, we need to get down…"

She followed his gaze down then bared her fangs at his comment.

"Sera-SERAPHIM!" Her Fire-Fur cried.

She felt her body free falling, sensing the ground fast approaching, gracefully twisting her body around and landing lightly on her feet and hands. Once on the ground, she pushed herself forward into a run…

* * *

"SERAPHIM!" Horatio shouted after her, but she continued running. "Damn it."

He quickly clambered down the tree but quickly realized that he was losing sight of his Seraphim. _Screw this!_ The redhead thought as he let go of the tree branch he was holding and dropped roughly to the ground. His ankle rolled beneath him, causing him to crumble. A slight pain shoot from his sprained ankle and up his leg, but the Lieutenant quickly brushed the pain aside as he pushed himself to his feet and chased after his swift Sera. _What is she after?_ Horatio asked himself but dutifully followed…

* * *

She did not have to look behind her to know that her Fire-Fur was following. She could feel his presence behind her and his unique scent followed her like a shadow, but none these things were what really told her of his approach. She mentally chided her Fire-Fur's lack of stealth as he trampled over twigs and dried leaves in thunderous stomps. She would be surprised if the Hairless-One did not hear their approach.

Silently she slipped closer to the building of broken things, making sure she stayed under the windows and crawled closer to the ajar door. She hunched closer to the wall and peered into the slightly open door but saw nothing. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she saw her Fire-Fur was fast approaching with a hand on his hip…

* * *

Horatio knew he was quickly gaining on Seraphim and found himself curious as to why she would approach the building cautiously as if there was danger within. Subconsciously his hand rested on the grip of his SIG, finding a measure of comfort knowing that he could protect Seraphim. The redhead noted that she gave him the barest nods before disappearing into the building. _Shit._ He mentally hissed as he quickened his pace and pressed his body against the building, drawing his weapon out. The Lieutenant took a deep breath and followed his Seraphim into the darkness.

* * *

Lionel Bush knew that he should be helping the other dip-shits in finding that freak, but he knew that he had to do this errand first. He had to retrieve his stash of treasure from the maintenance building before one of the dip-shits accidentally found it or worse… she found it!

His little treasure chest was filled with pieces of jewelry that he had helped himself to whenever one of those _heroes_ died. It was not like they needed it when they died, and if the trinkets were meant for anyone then they should have received it before hand. Bush greatly believed in 'Finders Keepers'. But he also knew that the damned freak would be after his stash because he had something belonging to her.

It was nothing special, and it was not something that Bush would have taken in the first place, but the Director told him to keep it away from the freak. The Director had said something about the thing would destroy his little project, but Bush did not care. It never ceased to disgust the muscular orderly at how obsessed these people could be over a stupid piece of tin. But either way, he knew that the freak would come for his stash, and he knew that this was also the only time he could exact revenge against her for all the humiliation that he had suffered by her when she showed up for it.

Bush easily slipped into the old maintenance building and made his way to the back of the workshop. No one used the building any more, not since the Director contracted out the maintenance work, which was why Bush felt comfortable that no one would immediately find his stash. Quickly he made his way to the old boiler room and began moving the old and forgotten boxes out of the way when he suddenly froze, feeling the proverbial hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Slowly turning around, his eyes grew wide as saucers when he came face-to-face with a pair of glowing Siberian blue fires.

* * *

With his weapon drawn, Horatio slowly and quietly entered the old building. Immediately the redhead guessed that the building was once a maintenance/repair shop and had not been used for a long while, judging by the layer dust everywhere. The only disturbance the pale criminalist found was the light footprints belonging to Seraphim and another set of footprints that easily belonged to a bigger unknown person, most likely a male.

Her footsteps were steady and sure as if she knew already where to go.

Horatio followed the trail that she left behind. There were only a few moments where her steady steps stopped, not paused, just stopped before moving again. The Lieutenant quickly understood what was happening. She was following someone, the first set of footprints, and at the same time, she was leaving a trail for him to find. But he did not know why. There was something important here, Horatio knew and understood, but there was something else here too. Something dangerous… Horatio kept close to the walls and forgotten crates, following Seraphim's trail when suddenly…

"BITCH!"

A crate cross from the Lieutenant exploded as a body slammed into it.

"SERA!" Horatio shouted as he saw Seraphim crawl out of the crate and crumpled to the floor. Instinct took over as the redhead placed himself between Seraphim's unmoving form and the bulky male in orderly scrubs. "MIAMI-DADE PD! FREEZE!"

* * *

Bush felt his entire body freeze in fear when he looked into those unholy blue fiery gems. She had found him! There she was crouched low on a crate, much like a tiger ready to pounce and her lips pulled back revealing her sharp canines. Bush could feel his heart racing. Every fiber in his being became frozen in fear in the presence of a predator. Then he blinked and remembered who it was in front of him! He was not going to be afraid of some little girl!

"Come on! You stupid bitch! There's no one here to save you!" Bush bellowed as he lunged toward her…

She easily leapt over the Hairless-One. Her body twisted fluidly in the air, righting herself to face the Hairless-One.

His massive body collided with the wooden crates. The crates shattered up under his weight. He stumbled back to his feet and glared at the freak's still body…

She remained crouched low, waiting for the Hairless-One move…

"You think that was funny!" Bush growled then charged again…

She did not move as the Hairless-One was almost on top of her.

Bush made to tackle the petite creature.

She easily slipped under his outstretched arm. She grabbed onto the outstretched arm, nails dug into flesh, and she rotated her body into the Hairless-One, throwing him over her shoulder.

She was calm and relaxed. She knew the Hairless-One's undisciplined nature would be his undoing. But she also knew that although he was undisciplined, he was still dangerous… especially to her Fire-Fur.

"You're fucking dead, bitch!" Bush growled out as he got to his feet, "You think you're all that? You're nothing! Nothing but a dumb animal! And I'm going to put you down!"

She merely watched him as he approached. She knew that she should not allow him to get closer, but she also knew that she would need to defeat him soon and quickly. She could feel her Fire-Fur coming closer.

Bush immediately threw a punch to her face.

She easily brushed the attack aside and jabbed his throat.

Bush gasped as he instinctively grabbed his throat and began coughing violently.

She stalked forward and then slammed her palm against his nose, effectively breaking the cartilage.

Bush's scream was muffled by his hands and blood. His vision was clouded by pain as he stumbled about. Suddenly he doubled over as he felt a powerful kick to his stomach, causing him to continue to gasp for air. He did not even had a chance to gain his baring when he felt another powerful kick to his chin, snapping his head back and causing him to crash into several more crates.

She was merciless in her attack. She did not allow the Hairless-One time to breath or to think. She knew that the Hairless-One's strength was greater than her own, and her advantage over him was her speed and agility. Her Fire-Fur was coming closer, and she needed to finish this before he arrived.

Suddenly pain exploded in her side. She instinctively moved away from the Hairless-One, who lumbered to his feet and dropped the piece of wood he had used to attack her.

"I told ya!" Bush growled, "You're nothing, and I'm gonna put you down!"

Then the massive orderly began punching the lithe figure as she curled into herself, protecting her torso and head from too much damage. However, she was unprepared for the punch to her stomach, which left her winded on the ground.

"I'm gonna beat you until there's nothing left to ID you!" Bush gloated as he grabbed a handful of her dark brunette locks. He savagely pulled her to her feet, twisting her around so she would face him. And he punched her twice more in the stomach, letting her body drop while she coughed up an empty stomach and blood.

She glared at him, baring her fangs.

"I'm going to enjoy this." He continued to gloat with a cruel smile on his face.

She did not wait for his next assault. She lunged at him, causing them both to fall. She then slammed her head against the Hairless-One's broken nose, causing the massive male to howl in pain.

Bush quickly tossed her off of him.

She rolled away and crouched low, watching the Hairless-One clamber to his feet.

Bush got to his feet but was having a hard time seeing and breathing due to the pain and blood.

Slowly and silently she moved closer then with a bust of speed she leapt into the air, twisting her body for one last powerful attack.

It was at that instant, Bush had a moment of clarity. Instinctively he blocked the devastating roundhouse kick, wrapped his arm around the tone leg, and he began to twist around. He completed one full rotation and then he let go.

She felt herself flying through the air and then her body screamed in pain as she crashed into several crates.

"BITCH!"

"SERA! MIAMI-DADE PD! FREEZE!"

Bush froze as he glared at the redhead, standing between him and the freak. Slowly he raised his hands to the air, all the while trying to figure out what a civilian cop was doing there.

"Now slowly," Horatio began instructing, "get on one knee."

The massive orderly did as told, and at the same time, Bush was planning on ways to get out of this situation.

"Now, on the other." Horatio commanded then slowly and cautiously approached.

Bush suddenly realized that the pale cop was alone, which meant that the older man would try to secure him by himself. _This could work._ The malicious orderly thought.

"With one hand, lower yourself to the ground." Horatio ordered. He knew it was a reckless and dangerous move, trying to detain the bulky man by himself, but Seraphim was injured, and _she_ was his top priority.

As the large orderly lowered himself to the ground, the Lieutenant slowly inched closer to the man. With his weapon still trained on the man on the ground, the redhead reached across to his right side for the ever-present handcuffs.

"Place your hands behind your back. Thumbs up." The criminalist demanded and watched warily as the orderly complied before holstering his weapon.

Bush waited patiently for the cop to come closer. He sensed the older man kneel down beside him then felt the cop grab his right hand. Instantly the bald orderly grabbed the redhead's wrist and rolled over, dragging the other man underneath him. Laying on top of the squirming, smaller man, Bush then slammed his elbow into the side of the cop's head.

Dazed by the sudden blow, Horatio stopped struggling and immediately felt the massive weight lift off of him. Instinctively his hand went for his weapon as well as a pair of massive hands. Horatio knew that if the orderly got hold of his weapon, both he and Seraphim would be dead. Remembering the thug's blood covered face, Horatio did the only thing that made sense… he slammed his head against the orderly's face.

Bush instantly saw the redhead's head coming closer and attempted to back away. However, he did not move fast enough, just barely as his vision became white with pain.

The orderly reeled back in pain, giving Horatio the chance to scramble away from the man. The Lieutenant stood up and drew his weapon only to have the air knocked out of him the second time. He could hear his weapon skidding across the hard flooring.

Glacier ice blues glowed a fiery acidic artic blue as the redhead slammed his fist against the orderly's back while his knee slammed into the thug's ribs.

Bush immediately let the thrashing cop go as his body was racked in pain by the simultaneous assault.

Once freed, Horatio blindly scrambled for his weapon but only to curl into himself as a powerful kick connect to his side.

Bush recovered quickly from the cop's attack. Seeing that the redhead was going for his gun, Bush immediately rushed over and kicked the lithe man in the side, much like one would do with a football. He then scooped up the gun, and as he turned around to fire, his eyes grew wide when he saw a pair of glowing Siberian blue fires.

He knew that he had pulled the trigger and yet nothing happened. Stupefied, Bush looked at the gun and realized in horror that the freak hand single-handedly jammed the gun by pushing the slide back, and at the same time, she had dropped the magazine. Then in a blink of an eye, the freak pulled the barrel forward, effectively and single-handedly the scarred creature had dismantled the redhead's gun…

* * *

After the Hairless-One had tossed her, it took her a few moments to regain herself. She knew that she had to for her Fire-Fur's scent was closer than before, and she did not want her Fire-Fur involve in the battle. The Hairless-One had no honor and would not respect her Fire-Fur's status. She knew that the Hairless-One would not hesitate in harming her Fire-Fur. Suddenly the area was filled with the Fire-Fur's strong aura. She immediately snapped to attention, pausing only for a moment to shake away the spots in her eyes. But once her eyes cleared, she watched as her Fire-Fur grappled against the Hairless-One.

Her body tensed at the injures her Fire-Fur received but remained still, fearing if she joined in the fray at that moment then she might accidentally harm her Fire-Fur. However, she felt herself spring into action once she saw the Hairless-One grab hold of her Fire-Fur's weapon. She did not know how she knew, but she trusted herself as her hand grasped the weapon's barrel and pushed back. Then her long finger pushed the magazine release, dropping the magazine to the ground. And before the Hairless-One could react, she pushed down the barrel release, freeing the barrel from the weapon entirely and completely ruining the Hairless-One's chances of using the weapon against her Fire-Fur.

Then with her fangs bare, she swung her fist, still clutching the barrel, around and slammed her fist into the Hairless-One's already damaged face. The Hairless-One gasped in pain as he stumbled away from her Fire-Fur. She dropped low as she watched the large male as he began to crawl away.

A soft moan echoed from behind, causing her to look at her Fire-Fur…

* * *

Horatio knew that he had to stop Seraphim before she killed the overly-muscled orderly. A part of him knew that it would be justified - self-defense, but the redhead did not want to have blood staining her hands, like his were. He gingerly pulled himself together and slowly got to his feet, a small moan escaped pass his lips. When he looked up, he saw a pair of Siberian gems staring at him. Her eyes were hard, but the Lieutenant could see that they had soften around the edges.

"That's…" Horatio said breathlessly, mentally realizing that he probably had cracked a few ribs, "that's enou- SERA!"

"RAARGH!" Bush bellowed as he swung around a thick piece of board against the small creature's frame.

She had heard and felt the air scream. Instinctively she brought her arm to her side, protecting her vulnerable ribs against the Hairless-One's attack. Her body exploded in pain as she felt herself fly across the area.

"GRAORR!" Bush continued as he charged the lithe redhead.

Horatio felt the wind knocked out of him for a third time in such a short time. He was lifted off of his feet as the orderly continued his charge across the room and then…

"AHH!" Horatio cried as his vision became white in pain and his entire back screamed in agony. The orderly had just slammed the redhead against something.

Bush grunted pleasingly as he heard the cop cry in pain. The large man shifted and grabbed hold of the pale man by his shirt. Pulling the lithe man forward, Bush noticed a jagged piece of metal protruding from the wall. The orderly then smirked as he lifted the smaller man up again and slammed him with more force than necessary onto that jagged piece of metal.

Horatio's eyes grew wide as he felt as if he had just been punched in the back but no sound escaped him. The orderly let him go and took a step back, watching the Lieutenant as he dropped to the ground and curled into a semi-ball, hoping to lessen the pain that racked through him. Looking up with pale blue orbs, the redhead watched helplessly as the monster of a man approached a still stunned Seraphim…

* * *

She silently groaned as her body protested against her movements. It was then that she stilled as her nose picked up the sweet coppery scent of blood. Her Siberian blue orbs grew wide as the scent teased her. The scent also carried warm ocean breeze with sand and the musky earth of the male gender.

Her Fire-Fur was injured.

Blood of her Fire-Fur had been shed.

The familiar dark shadow of her mind and her soul roared for vengeance.

Her fangs bared as she glowered at the Hairless-One.

"Come on, bitch!" Bush growled, "I'm not done with you!"

She let out a low growl from the depths of her chest. Before the Hairless-One could attack, she exploded into action.

Her lithe frame leapt into the air.

She slammed her knee into the Hairless-One's face, causing him to howl.

Her slim hands dug into the Hairless-One's shoulders, twisting her agile frame in midair and planting her dainty feet firmly into the Hairless-One's back. Pushing the momentum of her attack into her legs, she effectively kicked him into the crates.

She planted her hands onto the ground as she folded down and watched, waiting for the next assault.

"S-Sera…" A soft and yet pained voice called through the dark haze.

The darkness that clouded her mind began to lighten. The voice that whispered into her ears was like a candle. It was small and flickering and yet it shined more brightly than the sun, guiding her from the darkness that threaten to consume her.

Slowly her breath returned to her as she focused on the lithe flame.

"S-Sera…" The lithe frame called again, causing her to look over her shoulder.

She peered into a pair of pale blue pair orbs. Gems reflected both pain and fear, but she knew that the fear was not _of_ her but _for_ her. Her Fire-Fur knew… he knew what would have happened to her in the darkness. He drove the darkness away…

* * *

Horatio could only watched helplessly as the orderly approached his precious Seraphim. But within a blink of an eye, he watched as Sera exploded into action, leaping into the air, slamming her knee into the orderly's face and then she displayed an amazing feat of aerial acrobatics. She had somehow righted herself and kicked the orderly into the crates. She had landed gracefully on her feet and just remained absolutely still.

The Lieutenant could not shake the foreboding sense that he was losing her… losing her to something that he could not understand. He could not lose her! Not now! Not after all these years! Grinding his teeth, Horatio swallowed the anger, which threatened to consume him at the thought of losing her.

"S-Sera…" The redhead called, his voice light due to blood loss, but he remained focus on her. He could see the tautness of her muscles begin to relax. She was coming back to him.

"S-Sera…" He called again, cementing her path to him.

She had turned to look at him.

Horatio let out a sigh in relief. She was still with him, and he felt his heart and soul lift up in peace.

She immediately leapt over her Fire-Fur's prone body.

Horatio looked over his shoulder as he watched her hover over his body. Then he groaned as he felt her small and yet strong hands apply pressure to his wounds. _She's stopping the bleeding._ The redhead mentally groaned, but he did not fight her.

She applied her weight against the blood source and was pleased that he did not reject her, even with her savage ways. She leaned forward and gently nuzzled face against his own.

Horatio felt himself relax further as he felt her soft cheeks caressed against his. He smiled.

"You're safe…" Horatio whispered then was surprised to hear a gentle rumble coming from Sera…

"H!" A familiar voice echoed throughout the building.

"Frank…" Horatio whispered when he recognized the voice.

The area echoed with the thunderous footsteps of several people coming toward them. Horatio knew that the Texan would come looking for him once the Southerner realized that the redhead had gone missing. However, the Lieutenant knew that he did not have the strength to call out for his friend nor did his Seraphim had the ability to call out. Looking over his shoulder, Horatio noticed a glint in Sera's bright Siberian blue orbs.

Her eyes flittered around from object to object with the occasional glance to the prone orderly. She quickly guessed that the new intruders were her Fire-Fur's allies, and she also knew that her Fire-Fur needed a healer and needed one fast. She immediately spotted the disassembled barrel of her Fire-Fur's weapon. She gave her Fire-Fur a quick, re-assuring glance before bounding over his body and grabbing the piece of steel. She then began banging the piece of steel against the ground, banging an all too familiar sequence of Morse Code… S… O… S…

Dropping the piece of steel, she immediately returned to her Fire-Fur and began applying more pressure on the blood source.

"Good work, Sera…" Horatio whispered as he felt her strong hands rest firmly against the wound.

* * *

Frank let out a low growled oath as he glared at the two nurses, who were looking at him with bored and bland expressions. He was quickly losing his patience with these people. The two nurses were about the fourth or fifth personnel at this hospital that he had questioned about Horatio's mysterious woman, and each one either said that they did not know or they would 'direct' him to someone who did, which only ended with him starting this stupid ring-o-round game again.

"I'm gonna ask this only one more time." Frank glared as he slammed Captain Seraphim Brennan-O'Shea's picture on the counter of the nurse's station, "Where. Is. She!"

The nurse, who was in charge, was a heavy-set African-American woman. Her dark eyes were cold and unforgiving as if she had seen too much and had stopped caring a long time ago. She pushed the picture away, not bothering to look at it.

"You got no business here, Detective," The nurse stated, "and I aien't tellin' you nothing. Not me and not the others. Now leave 'fore I call security."

"The Detective may not have the authority to question you," A chilled voice cut through Frank's retort, causing the nurses to pale in realization as to who had just spoken, "but I do, and _I _want answers!"

Standing next to the Miami-Dade Detective was Lt. Col. Peacecraft with not only several local law officers but also with Security Forces and OSI personnel.

"Fine, _Sir_." The nurse sneered, knowing that their time had come, "Pat'nt 89523 is on the loose! You go find her and deal with her."

Peacecraft's lips thinned in anger at the nurse's lack of respect. What had happened to this hospital to allow such degrade of respect and military baring? Once he knew that the Captain and the other patients are taken care of, he was going to shut this facility down and get to the bottom of it. Turning to his men, Peacecraft barked out orders for the nurses to be detained.

"H?" The Detective's sudden call drew the Colonel's attention as the blonde too realized that the quiet Lieutenant was missing.

"Shit, Horatio!" Frank cursed as he ran out of the building but not before signaling two of his officers to follow.

Instantly the heavy-set Texan paused outside the hospital's automatic doors, frantically looking for his fair-skinned friend.

"There, sir!" One of his patrolman called as he pointed to a running figure in the far distance.

Frank knew that his friend would not hear him if he tried to call out. Without a second thought or uttering a word, Frank took off and hoped to catch his quiet friend before something terrible happened to the lithe redhead.

It took the middle-aged Southerner several minutes to reach the building, which the Lieutenant had disappeared into. As he and his two men set themselves up against the wall, they could quickly hear the sounds of a fight. Immediately the three police officers entered the building with their weapons drawn. They only took a few steps into the building when they heard a sharp cry coming from deep within.

"H!" Frank cried out, realizing that the sharp cry had to have come from the Irishman, but there was no response from the criminalist. _Dammit, H, where are you?_

"Sir!" One of the patrolman stopped the Detective. Before Frank could demand an explanation, it was then he heard what caught the patrolman's attention. Someone was banging an SOS.

"This way!" Frank stated as he ran toward the source of the sound.

He ran out into the open area of the building. His heart skipped a beat when he saw his friend prone on the ground and a petite waif creature leaning over him. The smaller figure looked up, making Frank's eyes grow wide when he saw the woman's glowing Siberian blue orbs and that her lips were pulled back to reveal her teeth.

Frank knew that the woman's eyes were unique in color, but he had not truly realized that her eyes had the same profound effect as Horatio's. It made the Detective wonder for the umpteenth time of who this woman was. The strange waif creature did not move from her position, but at the same time, she seemed to place her body over the deathly paled redhead, protecting the prone figure.

"S-Sera…" Horatio's voice was soft and soothing but also faint.

Frank blinked as the strange woman seem to have stand down.

"GRRAARGHH!" Came the animalistic bellow from behind, causing Frank to turn around and watch as a burly male came charging toward Horatio and the mysterious Sera. The Texan did not hesitate as he pulled the trigger of his weapon in three rapid succession.

The orderly managed to take only one step backwards before crumbling to the ground dead. Frank vaguely registered one of his patrolman had called for an ambulance while he turned his attention back to his friend. The Southerner dropped to his knees, and before he could ask Horatio anything, the waif-creature immediately grabbed the larger man's hands and placed them under her hands. Frank's eyes grew wide when he felt the warm liquid that was his friend's blood. He knew that the color must have drained from his face since he felt all of sudden cold… and then the woman slipped her hands out from under his and disappeared into the shadows.

"HEY!" Frank bellowed after her but received no answer.

"S-Sera…" Horatio whispered as he watched his Seraphim disappear.

"Hang on, H!" Frank murmured, "Just hang on! Help's coming."

"D-don't leave her… Frank…" Horatio begged, "Please… don't leave her…"

The Texan chewed on his lower lip in worry then threw a glance over his shoulder. He could not see a single sign of the strange woman and half debated with himself of going off to find her, when suddenly from the corner of his eyes, he saw something gray come crashing to the ground.

"Shit!" Frank yelped while the patrolmen had drawn their weapons towards the rafters. Looking at what had dropped from the ceiling, Frank's brow furrowed together in confusion.

It was a gray lockbox. It now laid broken, but it was its contents that confused the Detective, spewing out of the broken lockbox, the Texan saw nothing but jewelry… gold, silver and the like. But there was one odd piece of jewelry that had slid closer to the heavy-set Southerner. Frank easily recognized the piece of tin as a set of military dog-tags and attached to the silver-colored dog-tags was a golden medallion.

"WHOA!"

"FUCK!" The patrolmen both bellowed, causing Frank to look up in time to see a sea-foam green figure come crashing down. However, instead of the proverbial 'thud' of a body hitting the ground, Frank only heard a gentle 'thwamp' as the figure landed gracefully on all four. For a second time in a short time, the Texan's eyes grew wide as saucers when he locked gaze with a pair of Siberian blue gems. _What in God's name..?_ Frank's thoughts became incoherent as he tried to understand how someone could land, like a damn cat, on their feet from the rafters of a building.

"S-Sera…" Horatio whispered, bringing the Southerner's attention back to his injured friend.

The strange waif-creature's expression became light and soft as she broke into a heart-filled smile. She moved with grace and ease then picked up the dog-tags and medallion. She held it dangled from her hand and in front of the redhead, whose hand shook in pain and blood loss. The Lieutenant held onto the dog-tags.

"Brennan-O'Shea…" Horatio read out between each breath, "Seraphim… No Middle Name… 012-34-5678... Air Force… B Negative… No Religious Preference…"

Seraphim took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her name… her name was returned to her, and her Fire-Fur, her Horatio, had named her! Then there was a sharp gasp, causing her to open her eyes.

"H?" Frank called, noticing how the redhead gently caressed the gold medallion.

Horatio did not know if he was going into shock because of blood loss or because of everything else. The little gold medallion was a Saint Michael. There was nothing extremely special about the religious medallion, save for the fact that the redhead had given Seraphim the medallion once belonging to Detective Connor O'Shea.

It was an old tradition in New York that a cadet upon graduating the Police Academy would receive a Saint Michael, the patron saint of the police. Detective O'Shea was Horatio's grandfather, and he had given the young redhead the medallion upon the elder's deathbed when Horatio was only 12 years old. And Horatio had given the medallion to Seraphim when she was a baby before he…

"H, what is it?" Frank asked, breaking Horatio's painful memories as the Texan helplessly watched the two strange beings in front of him with their eyes aglow.

Seraphim then slipped her head through the silver-chain and rest her head against his.

"You kept it…" Horatio whispered and felt his eyes flutter close.

"Hey! Hey!" Frank frantically cried when he noticed his friend's eyes closing.

Sera's lips pulled back in a silent snarl as she roughly grabbed a ruff of the fire-fur and gave a vicious twist.

"HEY!" Frank cried with indignation but was surprised to see Horatio open his eyes with renewed awareness.

"Where the hell are the EMTs!" Frank bellowed over his shoulder, realizing that his friend was losing precious time.

"They're here!"

"Over here!" The patrolman both cried over each other as they flagged the paramedics over.

The next couple of minutes were a flurry of action and movement as the paramedics attempted to stabilize the paler than normal Lieutenant and as they tried to ignore the silent snarls from the Siberian blue-eyed waif. When the paramedics managed to stabilize the frail redhead, one of the paramedics let out a series of unprofessional oaths, startling the subdued Texan.

"What?" Frank suddenly exclaimed.

"B Negative! He's B Negative!" The paramedic hissed in panic as Horatio's blood pressure began to drop again.

"Yeah so! What's wrong with that?" Frank demanded.

"We're out of B Negative, and we're low on plasma." The paramedic explained, "If we don't stabilize him, we'll lose him en route."

"B Negative?" Frank mumbled to himself then his eyes snapped onto the waif, who without prompting thrust her arm in the paramedic's face.

"Wha -"

"She has B Negative!" Frank quickly explained.

"You consent?" The paramedic asked, which caused Seraphim to grab the startled medic by the shirt and snarled.

How dare the stupid healer question her! He was Kin! He was Tribe! Of course, she would share her life with her Kin!

"Well! Don't just stand der'! Get goin'!" Frank bellowed, oblivious to his native twang slipping through in his fear for his friend.

* * *

Tap. Tap. Taptaptaptaptap. Tap. Tap. Taptaptaptaptap.

"Will you stop that?" Tara snapped as she glared at the heavy-set Texan, who returned her glare with one of his own before he gave his pen a final 'tap' for good measure.

The moment the paramedics had stabilized Horatio and ferried him off in their vehicles, the Texan had immediately called Calleigh Duquesne, the Crime Lab's Number Two, and had told her what was going on. As soon as Frank arrived at Miami-Dade General, Eric and Ryan were already waiting for him in the hospital's waiting area. Calleigh arrived a short time after the Detective, followed by Natalia, and unfortunately Tara Price arrived as well.

Susie Barnham and her daughter, Madison, had come running into the waiting room with Horatio's son, Kyle, in tow about an hour after Calleigh and Natalia. The young blonde soldier made a straight beeline for the sitting Detective, who suddenly looked ill at ease because Yelina Salas and her son, Ray Junior, had just arrive as well. Although Yelina and Susie were nothing but civil toward one another, there was still a layer of tension between the two women that no one could really ignore. Frank could never tell if the tension stemmed from either Raymond Caine, Horatio's younger brother and father of both women's children, or from Horatio, who tried his best to protect them from the emotional heartache they hid within their hearts.

"Where's my father?" Kyle had demanded of the Detective, who quietly replied that the older redhead was still in surgery just to avoid the two women.

That was several hours ago, and they still had yet heard a word from the doctor.

"Excuse me, Det. Tripp?" A cultured voice called, catching the crowded waiting area's attention.

"Yeah," Frank frowned as he recognized Lt. Col. Peacecraft. He politely stood up, ignoring everyone's questioning stares and knowing that he would be questioned about the military officer's presence at a later time, "What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Capt. O'Shea?" The blonde Colonel asked, "She seem to have disappeared."

Frank blanched as he realized that he had not seen the waif since the paramedics had carted his friend off.

"Frank, who's this Captain O'Shea?" Eric asked as he observed the Texan and the Air Force Officer.

"Dunno, but she saved H's life." Frank replied as he sighed and reached for his phone.

"She saved his life? How?" Peacecraft curiously asked.

"Yeah, it's good thing she had the same blood type as H." Frank answered then rubbed his hand against his scalp. Suddenly Frank narrowed his eyes when he spotted the blonde officer smirking.

"What?"

"I'm not surprised about that."

"Yeah? An' why's that?"

"That's something that Lieutenant Caine must tell you for himself." The Colonel replied with a smile, "As for where the good Captain had disappeared to, I can hazard a guess."

"Wanna share." Frank demanded as he placed his hands on his hips, not liking the fact that the blonde Colonel knew something about _his_ friend that he did not. Plus, he had to find the Captain. After all, the Texan had promised his friend that he would not leave the waif-creature behind.

"An' what's her story?"

"Again that…" Peacecraft paused, "is something you should ask Lt. Caine. I don't know the whole story, but I have an idea."

Suddenly Kyle jumped to his feet, startling everyone who had been watching the exchange between the Detective and the Officer.

"Alexx!" The blonde young man cried out, causing everyone to turn around to see a beautiful African-American woman.

Alexx Woods was still slender and elegant like an ebony lily as they remembered her to be. Her large doe-brown eyes sparkled with relief, and her once long and lush locks were cut short into the recently popular Pixie-cut. The style gave her an impish allure, like Puck from Shakespeare's _A Midnight's Summer Dream_.

Kyle rushed the tiny woman, not bothered that she was covered in blood - most likely his father's. He had worked with the formidable woman, thanks to his father, prior to enlisting with the Army Reserves, and he knew that if there was any doctor out there that could save his father's life then it would be Doctor Woods. The young Private threw his arms around the woman and gave her a tight hug.

"Oh baby!" Alexx cooed, the only way that a mother could coo to sooth a troubled child, "Everything is going to be alright."

Kyle tightened his hold and buried his face into the slender woman's shoulder to hide his tears. He had to be strong for his father and himself.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Kyle quietly asked, hoping his voice did not break.

"Yes, baby, Horatio will be just fine." Alexx assured the young man she had come to care for as her own son then cupped his cheek.

Kyle took a few moments to gather himself before he stepped away. The young man gave the double 'authorized personnel only' doors a calculating glance from the corner of his eye, wandering how quickly it would take him to hack into the computers to find his father's room and go there. But he pushed that desire aside. He knew that Alexx would let him see his father and maybe… just maybe let him stay the night.

"Alexx, how's he?" Eric finally asked the question that was plaguing everyone's mind.

"He's fine." Alexx began, "I had to remove a portion of his spleen due to the damage. He also had several cracked ribs. He'll be needing to stay here for about a week and rest for about a month before he can return to work."

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"When can we see him?" Ryan asked, which made Alexx lightly smile.

"At the moment, he's asleep, but I'll let two of you to see him right now. Tomorrow would be better for everyone else." She promised.

"Me and Maddie will go." Kyle stated immediately with a tone that left no room for argument, reminding all those in the waiting room as to whose son he was.

* * *

The walk to his father's room was quick and silent as Kyle held onto his little cousin's hand, feeling her grip tightened with each approaching step. Looking into a pair of light blue eyes that matched his own, the young man took strength in her presence. Taking one last deep breath, Kyle opened the door and stepped in to be stopped in their tracks by a pair of unearthly glowing Siberian blue gems…


	4. Chapter 4

FF103 "Family History"

Kyle found himself frozen at the threshold of his father's room. Instinctively he placed himself in front of his younger cousin, Madison, and the strange woman on his father's bed. He could feel Maddie's grip tighten on his arm and can imagine that the little redhead was probably peering around him to stare at the strange woman with the unnaturally glowing Siberian blue eyes.

The small woman was posed over his father as if protecting him with her own body. Her lips pulled back to reveal her teeth - very reminiscent of a big cat baring their fangs, and the silent room echoed with a very low rumble, sounding so much like a growl. Kyle's sky blue eyes never wavered from the woman's eyes, but he absently noticed the scars that tattooed her copper complexion. The Medic in him automatically began categorizing the type of injuries that caused those scars, including the thin scar across her throat. He could not even begin to imagine the type of hell that the strange woman had survived through.

Her unnerving stare was broke when she suddenly blinked. Her tense frame relaxed a little, but Kyle knew that if need be, she would be ready and able to attack and defend. Her nose flared open while she opened her mouth. Her actions _**really **_reminded Kyle of a big cat scenting the air.

"She's kinda like Coco Puff." Maddie's voice was soft and barely audible, and yet the mysterious woman closed her mouth and looked at Madison, who let out a quiet gasp of surprise that she was heard.

Kyle felt himself tense up at the woman's sudden attention on his cousin. The young Medic mentally agreed that the woman was acting much like Madison's grey-fluffy menace of a kitten, or so the blonde youth like to think of said feline.

The woman slowly straightened her posture, almost sitting on her heels and amazingly keeping perfect posture and balance on the unsteady surface on the hospital bed. She then gently motioned for the pair to come closer.

Kyle, however, remained absolutely still, not certain what to make of the stranger or whether to trust her.

Madison, on the other hand, took a bold step away from her bigger cousin's protective frame. She took a hold of the blonde's hand and slowly approached her uncle's bed.

With each approaching step, Kyle noticed how the woman kept sniffing the air as if she could smell their scents. _That's impossible._ The blonde thought but stored his observation for a later time. The pair stopped by his father's bed.

The strange woman suddenly pointed at Kyle, causing the blonde to blink, then folded her arms together as if rocking a baby then pointed at his sleeping father.

Kyle's brows furrowed together as he tried to understand the woman's actions. _There's no way she could possibly be suggesting that? How could she possibly know?_ He thought to himself in surprise when he realized what she was trying to say.

Madison looked between the woman and her cousin.

"Kyle?" She whispered, "Is she asking if you're Uncle Horatio's son?"

The woman smiled encouragingly.

"How?" Kyle gasped, "How did you know that? I mean… most people assume Maddie is Dad's daughter."

Siberian blues peered at Maddie before she reached for her own hair, giving it a light tug.

"Yeah! Because we have the same hair color!" Madison softly exclaimed in understanding, trying not to make too much noise that would wake her uncle.

The woman looked pass the pair as Kyle could see her trying to explain without words. Despite a slight frown on her face, she pointed at Kyle then tapped the side of her nose and pointed at the sleeping Lieutenant then she repeated the process when she pointed at Madison but made a 'so-so' motion with her hand. This caused the cousins to look at each other in confusion.

"You can smell it?" Kyle asked dubiously which caused the woman to smile in a secretive knowledge.

"That's not possible." Kyle replied.

The woman just shrugged. Her expression told the Medic that she did not care if he believed her or not. She then turned her attention to the sleeping criminalist as if she was expecting the injured man to wake up. She placed a gentle hand against the redhead's cheek.

Kyle watched in amazement as his father leaned into the stranger's touch and took a deep breathe before his Glacier blue eyes fluttered open. _Did she know that Dad was waking up?_ The young man thought as he observed the pair.

"Seraphim." His father's voice was a bit rough from disuse.

"Uncle Horatio?" Madison called out, causing the older redhead to turn toward her voice.

"Madison. Kyle." Horatio smiled.

"Hey, Dad, are you feelin' okay? Do you need me to call Alexx?" Kyle quickly asked.

"No…" The Irishman replied, "don't call her… I'm alright… just tired."

"Like hell, you're alright." Kyle said through clenched teeth.

The woman snorted, almost as if agreeing with the young man, then lowered herself, laying her head on the older man's chest and closing her eyes.

Kyle and Madison just watched as Horatio, without realizing what he was doing, began petting the woman's dark locks. Kyle could hear a faint rumbling coming from the woman.

"Is she purring?" Madison asked.

"Hm…" Horatio murmured, looking down at her but not stopping. A thin brow arched as he indeed heard purring coming from her. "I suppose she is."

"Dad, who is she?" Kyle asked as he felt a bit jealous of the closeness the two shared that not even he had with his own father but quickly dismissed it, knowing now was not the time to be petty about something he did not of but to focus on making sure that his father received the best care available.

"That is…" Horatio slowly began, "a long story, son."

Kyle crossed his arms, hearing the tone his father would take when the older man was trying to protect him from an ugly truth. While he usually appreciated his father's efforts to protect him, something he rarely received while growing up, but the young blonde also knew that some ugly truths cannot remain hidden forever.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Me neither, Uncle Horatio!" Maddie exclaimed, "She even knew that Kyle's your son! She wasn't confused about me like a lot of people."

"Did she?" Glacier blue orbs blinked in surprise, causing Seraphim to snort and opening a single eye in a glare of annoyance because the Lieutenant had stopped petting her hair.

"Wow! She's really like Coco Puff!" Madison whispered, having seen that particular expression on her kitten more than one occasion.

Both Horatio and Kyle just looked at the younger redhead curiously.

Seraphim stretched her arm out and gently patted the bed.

Madison smiled brightly as she climbed onto the bed. Kyle, in the meantime, found a chair in the far corner and brought it to his father's bedside. Horatio slowly sat up, causing Seraphim to give the older man a disgruntled look which surprised him but caused Madison to giggle.

"Okay, _now_, I can see how she's kinda like that hellcat." Kyle remarked as he too noticed that patented feline look of 'how-dare-you-move!-I-was-comfy!'

"Hey! Don't call my kitty that! He's a sweetie!" Maddie defended her beloved pet.

The blonde Medic's expression spoke volumes, which amused his father.

"Now, Kyle…" Horatio lightly chided.

As the small family teased one another, Sera watched with interest. She did not know _how_ exactly she knew that the blonde one was her Fire-Fur's child. She trusted her instincts when her nose picked up a scent that marked the blonde was like her Fire-Fur and yet he was not. The same scent of Kin was also on the little Fire-Fur; however, it was not as strong, which told her that the she-Fire-Fur was Kin but not a close Kin.

"Seraphim." Her Fire-Fur called as he held his hand out to her, knowing that she was too far away to be approached so casually.

She knew that he wanted to touch her, but he would be patient. They both knew that she was too far away for such ease. It would take time for her to slowly come back as she had seen it in the other Fallen Ones, but she also knew that it would be a long time before she completely come back from far away. Sera nodded her head, letting her Horatio know that she was grateful of his understanding, as she voluntarily returned to his side, feeling his arm wrap around her.

"Dad?" Kyle asked. He did not know what to make of his father's apparent ease with the mysterious woman.

She looked a bit too old to be another child, but the fact that she possessed the same soul-piercing gaze as his dad seemed to state otherwise.

"Seraphim," Horatio started, making sure he had Sera's attention when he pointed to the younger redhead, "this is Madison, my niece."

Maddie smiled brightly as she waved at Seraphim, who moved away from her Fire-Fur. The young girl's bright blue eyes grew wide when the quiet woman suddenly enveloped her in a tight hug. She felt Sera take a deep breath before pulling away. Seraphim's hands lightly ghosted over the young redhead.

"And this is Kyle, my son."

Kyle sat straight in his seat as he watched the strange woman approach him. She silently slipped off of the bed and stood before him with her soul-piercing gaze. The blonde was surprised to see so much presence in such a tiny person. _Holy cow, Maddie is almost bigger than her and she's not done growing!_ The Medic thought as he felt Seraphim's thin arms wrap around him. He could feel a surprising strength in her embrace. The hug seemed to last forever and yet it was only seconds later when she stepped away and looked at Horatio.

"Madison, Kyle, this is Seraphim… my sister."

Two pair of sky blue eyes grew wide.

"Sister?" Kyle felt his jaw go slack while Seraphim gently smiled and leapt back onto the bed… not climb but honest-to-goodness leapt onto the bed _without_ jostling the man laying on it.

"But Uncle Horatio, she doesn't really like your sister." Maddie stated, looking at her newly named aunt.

"For that, I'm happy." The Lieutenant whispered but was heard nonetheless.

"She's your half-sister." Kyle stated rather than asked when he understood his father's comment with a surprised expression on his face, "Your mom had an affair?"

Even Madison looked incredulously at her cousin's explanation.

Horatio took a deep breath before he leveled a somber look on his son and niece. When he suddenly let out a hiss and looked down at his hand to see two crescent indentations on his skin then he watched as Sera gently soothed the sharp pain with a light touch. Glacier Ice blue orbs peered into a pair of Siberian blue.

Neither looked away.

Neither blinked.

And neither were they aware of the unearthly glow of their Fey Eyes.

Then the strange and eerie moment was broken when Seraphim slowly blinked and Horatio closed his eyes. When the redhead opened his eyes again, a small and rueful smile graced his face as he watched his baby sister curl into a ball by his side.

"Does she even have a spine?" Kyle gasped, believing that curling into a ball and falling asleep in said ball should not be possible by any human.

"Of course, she does, Kyle." Horatio's tone told the blonde that comment was silly.

"S'rry." The Medic replied.

"I should be the one apologizing. There's much about our family history that you don't know." The redhead sighed. Suddenly feeling even more tired than he had ever experienced before, and it was not just a physical wariness but also an emotional one.

"Uncle Horatio?"

"Dad?"

"It is understandable for you to assume Mathair was unfaithful." The redhead quietly began, and the unspoken word _but_ could be heard resonating in the air, "Caitlin, Mathair, was a devoted Catholic, and she fell for my father's charm at a young age. She was still in high school when she had me and married Donald… Raymond was born five years later and in that time, Mathair and I were the only ones to know of my father's heavy hand."

Madison gasped at her uncle's alluded admission of being abused as a child. She looked at her cousin and was surprised to see no sign of shock on his face. It was as if Kyle either knew or at least suspected the truth.

"It wasn't until Raymond was a little older that… I realized why Mathair and I were that man's outlet for his rage… Raymond looked more like a Caine than I did."

Kyle blinked in confusion to his father's statement.

"And what does a Caine look like?" The blonde remarked, remembering seeing a picture of Madison's father that the little redhead had when he had visited her a while ago.

Horatio shrugged.

"Not having red hair and blue eyes."

Madison looked away as she remembered her only photo of her father, Raymond, that she possessed - given to her by Ray Jr. when she was in the hospital. He had dirty blonde to brunette hair and hazel-brown eyes. In fact at first glance, it was hard to see any relations between her father and her uncle.

"So you took after your mom?"

"More like my maternal grandfather, but yes, I took after Mathair."

It was true that neither cousins really knew much about their family history, and something told them that after tonight, Kyle and Madison might be grateful to being ignorant of most of it.

"I have very few good memories from my childhood, but one thing I'm grateful for was that Raymond was spared."

"Whoa… that sorry excuse of a bastard that you call a _father_ only abused you and your mom? Because you didn't look like him? Because you have _red hair_?" Kyle exclaimed in a hiss.

The blonde knew and understood that there was no rhyme-or-reason for abuse after having seen it happen to a few of his foster siblings. However, it was still hard for the Medic to fully understand the reason for his father's abuse was because his dad was a _**redhead**_.

Again Horatio just shrugged.

"It was something Mathair and I lived with and accepted… he would hurt us as long as he left Raymond alone."

Angry at his father's blasé attitude toward his abusive past, Kyle shot to his feet, knocking his chair over and startling Madison and Seraphim. However, it was Sera's reaction to the sudden noise that stopped the blonde in his tracks and from ranting.

His aunt's Siberian blue orbs immediately locked on him while a low growl echoed in the room. In a blink of an eye, the tiny woman was curled in a ball and then she was crouched for an attack. Kyle held his hands up, showing that he was unarmed, which did little to appease his strange aunt.

"Sera." Horatio calmly stated as he gently ran his hand through her unruly hair.

She blinked before settling back on her heels. Her unearthly stare focused on the Blonde One, watching him slowly calm himself down. He ran a hand through his short fur.

"Sorry, but I can't believe that _you_ would be okay with taking that shit!"

"Kyle." The Lieutenant's tone was hard. While he was surprised at his son's outrage on _his _behalf, the redhead was not about to let Kyle 'swear up a storm'.

"Dad!"

"It was long ago." He tried to dismiss it.

"Long ago? _Long ago?_ Where did those scars come from, Dad? You know which one's I'm talking about! Where?" The blonde continued then he pointed at his aunt, "Did that bastard give her her scars?"

Suddenly Kyle found himself taking a step back when he saw a level of cold hatred in his father's acidic artic blue gems that the blonde suspected was reserved specifically for a certain type of criminal that his father and his team investigate and capture. It took the Medic a moment to realize that the hatred was not directed at him, but at the notion that the bastard of a father could even harm Seraphim.

The tension in the hospital room suddenly became thick, causing the pressure to mount and making it difficult for Madison to breath, triggering a mild asthma attack. It felt like she was being smothered in a crushing hug, and she could not catch her breath. With panicked eyes, she immediately looked toward her aunt for help, since her uncle and cousin were busying staring at one another, when suddenly she felt Sera's arms wrapped themselves around Maddie's frame. The young redhead then focused on her aunt, which made it a bit easier to breath. She focused on the warmth and strength that the tiny, silent woman exuded. The she-Fire-Fur leaned deeper into the older woman's arms and sighed when she felt a gentle vibration course through her.

"Maddie, you okay?" Kyle whispered as he tried to take a step forward when he finally noticed his cousin's distress but immediately retreated when he saw Seraphim's dark glare just as equally as unnerving as his father's acidic blue gems or perhaps a bit worse, especially since the blonde could see a glint of something that sent shivers down the Medic's spine - something primal and feral.

"Seraphim." Horatio chided, but he too proverbially retreated when she leveled a dark glare on him as well.

Sera bared her fangs at her Fire-Fur. The she-Fire-Fur was frail. She had an illness that had left its mark on her lungs. Sera could hear the faint wheezing with each breath she-Fire-Fur took, and being in the room with her Fire-Fur's presence battling the Blonde One's own presence was too much for the small one. The two were battling, unknowingly for the claim of Alpha of Kin, which her Fire-Fur naturally won.

"I'm okay…" Madison finally whispered after a few minutes of silence. Her bright blue eyes looked up into her aunt's Siberian blue gems and smiled.

Sera took a deep breath, taking in she-Fire-Fur's scent and nodding her head. She was pleased that the wheeze-sound had faded away, meaning that the she-Fire-Fur was in control once more. Siberian blue orbs locked with the Blonde One, who had lowered his eyes in shame. The young one understood that it was his fault for causing such distress. Sera could see that he was still watching her through his lashes. While he still watched her and she-Fire-Fur, Sera pulled her name free from under her itchy second skin and held it out with pride. She knew that the Blonde One would understand her marks once he saw her name. After all, he too bore his name.

Kyle's eyes grew wide when he saw the dog-tags around his tiny aunt's neck. He turned to his father for an explanation, one which Horatio easily gave.

"She received her scars while she was a POW in Afghanistan." Horatio quietly began, "Donald never knew about Seraphim… not even Mathair knew about her."

Three pairs of eyes blinked in confusion.

"How's that possible?' Maddie asked, looking between Sera and Horatio.

Siberian blue orbs peered into her Fire-Fur's tired Glacier ice blue gems. Sera slowly approached closer to her troubled Kin. She gently laid her forehead against his then placed a light kiss on Horatio's forehead. Then she disappeared from sight.

"Sera?" Horatio called out in surprised. His eyes wide as he tried to find her but could not find a trace of her presence. Had that admission truly cost him his precious sister? Had he truly lost his chance for atonement for his greatest sin? His sin of giving her away without so much of a fight?

"Dad?" Kyle whispered as he placed a hand on his father's shoulder, keeping the injured man in bed as he too tired to look for his aunt and was confused as to why she would just suddenly disappeared.

Suddenly the door opened, startling the small family into remembering where they were.

"Alright, Kyle, Madison," Alexx' voice cut through the thick silence, "time to - Horatio-honey! What's wrong?" The pixie-haired African-American woman gasped as she quickly rushed to her former colleague's side.

"What?" The Lieutenant's voice was tight with barely contained raw emotions.

"Hun, are you alright?" Alexx asked as she gently placed a small hand on his cheek. She had never seen the strong man so close to tears, not even when Marisol was murdered.

Suddenly a low rumble echoed throughout the private room, causing the cousins and Alexx to tense up.

Horatio instantly turned toward the source of the sound and felt a swell of relief overcome him. His Sera had not left him. His body relaxed. Exhaustion finally seemed to have won and began to drag him into a deep sleep. While he fought to stay awake, his son quietly and quickly ushered Madison and Alexx out of the room. The lithe redhead did not hear everything, but he thought he heard his son saying something about being hungry. _A silly lie to get the girls out of here._

He continued to fight against sleep. He wanted to see his sister, his Seraphim, one last time before falling into darkness. Afraid that if he closed his eyes, she would be taken from him… again.

"Sera…" His voice was breathy and yet desperate at the same time.

His bed dipped with the added weight of another body. Instinctively his arms wrapped themselves around his sister's slender frame. Falling deeper into sleep, Horatio tightened his hold on his precious treasure.

"Nev… er… a… gain… nev… er… let… tin'… go…"

* * *

"Kyle! Kyle!" Madison hissed through clenched teeth as her blonde cousin ushered her and Doctor Woods out of her uncle's room.

"What was that?" Alexx whispered as she allowed the Army Medic to pull her out of her former colleague's room, despite her desire to go back into the room and protect her vulnerable friend from whatever was making that noise.

"Nothing, Alexx." Kyle replied in a familiar tone that the doctor had only heard from her red-haired friend when he meant business.

"Kyle." The African-American woman remarked in disbelief, causing the blonde to sigh as he raked his hand through his hair.

"Okay… but you _can't_ tell anyone." The Medic sighed then looked pointedly at his younger cousin, "This means you too."

"What?" Madison gasped, hurt that her cousin would even need to warn her.

"Look, we don't know how Sera got the way she is, but one thing I do know is that someone was _keeping_ her that way."

"Sarah? Who's Sarah?"

"Seraphim." Kyle automatically corrected without a second thought.

"What do you mean?" Madison whispered in confusion.

"Sera's military. She would have been in a military hospital or a VA. She should have been getting help for whatever is wrong with her, but from what I've seen, she hasn't. That tells me that someone has been keeping her like that, and I don't know if they caught the SOB."

"Kyle-Hun, what's going on? You're scaring me."

Kyle blinked as he finally realized that Alexx was still with them. He mentally kicked himself for not realizing before that she was still there, but he was also glad that she was there. The blonde would not be surprised if his father would ask the petite doctor to look over Seraphim… _his sister_. His father would trust only her to do so, and hopefully Seraphim would trust the good doctor as well.

Of all the secrets that Kyle knew that his father carried in his heart, having a sister was not one of them that he expected. The blonde then placed a calm hand on the African-American woman's arm.

"Seraphim was the woman who made that sound."

"A woman made that sound?" Alexx asked in disbelief, which Kyle understood especially since the noise sounded more like a tiger rather than a human.

"Yeah, and she's Dad's sister."

"Sister? Horatio never told me about having a sister!" Alexx gasped in shock.

"I don't think Dad has told anyone about her." Kyle confessed.

"But why?" Madison interjected.

"Think about it, Maddie." The blonde began as he looked at her, mentally begging for the young girl to understand, "Think about what Dad just admitted to and remembered what Seraphim looks like."

Madison's eyes grew wide.

"But she was a baby! It wasn't her fault that Uncle Horatio's mom had an affair!" Madison exclaimed.

"Madison!" Kyle's tone demanded for his younger cousin to listen to him, "Now, listen… this is only a theory, but I think that SOB that Dad calls a _father_ did something bad… I mean, really bad, which made Dad's mom leave him… most likely with Dad and your father…"

Alexx' full lips were pressed together as she listened to the cousins talking. She had always suspected that her dear friend had been abused as a child, which left its physical marks on the redhead's back. But to actually hear Kyle explain his theory, the petite doctor felt a hot rage that made her wish she could get her hands on the monster that had harmed Horatio.

"Okay…" Madison's voice was soft and broke Alexx' thoughts of doing extreme bodily harm.

"So maybe while in hiding, she found somebody who treated her right… they got along… and you know, have a baby…"

"If that's true then why doesn't anyone know about Aunt Sera?"

"Because Horatio's mother went back to her abusive husband… either willing or not…" Alexx whispered.

"Yeah, that's what I think! And I think when Sera was born, Dad knew that the bastard would either take it out on his mom or the baby… so Dad must have hidden her… even probably put her up for adoption… you know how Dad is when it comes to protecting those he hold dear, especially family. You know this, Maddie."

Madison nibbled her lower lips while wringing her hands together. Yes, she knew that her Uncle was overly protective of his loved ones, especially of his family. She suddenly jumped when she felt a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her. The young redhead then leaned into her cousin's embrace.

"It's all theory." Kyle murmured, "But we won't know until Dad tells us… and he will, when he's ready and stronger, okay?"

"Okay…" She whispered, letting Kyle walk her back to the others and leaving Alexx in the hallway, but not before giving the formidable woman a nod. The blonde knew that his father's friend would go in and check-up not only Horatio but Seraphim as well.

Once the cousins had disappeared down the hallway, Alexx turned back to her friend's room.

Slowly she opened the door and peered into the dark room. Once she knew what had caused that unusual and dangerous sound, Alexx was able to mentally prepare herself and was not surprised to hear the noise once more. Slowly she moved into the room and quietly closed the door behind her. The growl grew louder. The petite doctor stayed close to the door, taking in the strange sight of her red-haired friend's arms wrapped around the petite and lithe frame of the mysterious Seraphim.

Seraphim was wide awake and growling as she posed her frame over Horatio's body, protecting him from unknown threats.

"Hello," Alexx softly stated as she showed her hands to the growling woman, "my name is Alexx. I'm a friend of your brother."

Seraphim did not even blink, making the doctor wonder if the woman understood what Alexx was saying.

"I'm also his doctor." The African-American woman whispered as she slowly approached, "I just want to check his temperature, make sure that he doesn't have a fever."

Siberian blue eyes slowly blinked, and the growls had stopped. Seraphim then relaxed her posture.

Alexx smiled when she stood next to Horatio's bed then placed a cool hand on the redhead's slightly warm forehead.

"He's a little warm, but it could be because of you."

Seraphim just shrugged.

_So she does understand me._ The doctor thought then looked at the woman's own scars. She was about to reach toward Seraphim when she head a suddenly familiar warning growl. Alexx warily backed away.

"Alright!" She whispered, "But I would like to check on your wounds soon."

The only response she received was a look that she could not define but left the newly re-united siblings be.

* * *

"_Ahhh!" Screamed a petite auburn haired woman as she was covered in sweat and held a vice like grip on her eldest son's hand._

"_That's it, Caitlin." Cooed an elderly voice as the old woman coached the young woman through the pain. "You're doing just fine."_

"_It's okay, Mathair." Her son whispered in his special calm voice that had been known to calm even the harden of men. "I'm right here."_

"_Where… where is he?" She panted in fear between labored breaths._

_Her round face was flushed from fatigue, exhaustion and from a recently developing fever. Caitlin's hazel-brown eyes peered into her son's glacier blue orbs, revealing her pain and fear._

"_He's not here…" Her son assured her, "You're safe… you're both safe, I promise. I promise to protect both of you."_

"_Don't make promise you can't keep, boy." The med-wife clucked her tongue, causing the red-haired teen to glare at the crone._

_The mid-wife was an old family friend of his father, and although the old woman disapproved of the teen's father's treatment of his Mathair, the blue-eyed teen knew that she had and would always look the other way. Of course, the mid-wife also held no love for the red-haired teen. She had the old world superstition that redheads were evil and soulless beings and deserved whatever treatment they got, and while the teenager despised the old woman, he knew that he could not help his Mathair give birth to his newest sibling._

"_Ahhhh!" Caitlin screamed again as another wave of pain crashed through her._

"_That's it. Push." The mid-wife instructed._

_Suddenly her eyes grew wide as she looked at the panting auburn haired woman with an accusing glare. However, before the old woman could make a remark, another wave of pain and scream ripped through Caitlin._

"_I see the head…" The old woman said in sudden clipped tones, "One more push."_

"_Rahhhh!" Caitlin screamed once more before passing out from fatigue, scaring her son._

"_Mamai!" He gasped as he looked at his Mathair before turning to the mid-wife, who had just turned away with a quiet bundle in her hands. He suddenly felt his heart lurch into his throat when he did not hear the traditional wailing of a newborn babe. He gently laid his Mathair down and hurried over to the old woman._

_His eyes were wide as he watched the mid-wife clean the bloodied body of a quiet baby. He never had heard such a painful and dreadful silence before. Had his father killed his baby sibling when he had beaten his Mathair days ago? _Please… please make a sound!_ He mentally begged the still bundle of light tanned flesh. The form was tiny, no bigger than the teen's forearm and had a tuff of black hair on top of its head. The mid-wife had covered the baby's body, hiding the child's gender from the teen._

_The old woman suddenly turned around and nearly threw the quiet bundle into the redhead's arms. He gently and yet firmly took the fragile gift into his arms, holding it close to his heart and gasped in surprise when he caught sight of a pair of beautiful Siberian blue gems. Then the gems quickly disappeared behind closed eyelids, but the teen could not help but think that those hidden gems were like a pair of guiding fires, guiding him from a darkness that he did not know of. _Seraphim…_ He thought and smiled._

"_Your name is Seraphim." He whispered and was answered with a slight, happy gurgle._

"_Don't think you can keep her." The mid-wife snit as she went about to clean Caitlin and the after-birthing._

_The teen looked up, holding the sleeping babe closer to his chest in attempts to protect his sister from the old woman's hateful words._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Don't be stupid, boy." She sneered, "It's obvious that that baby isn't Donald's… never thought she would sleep with a chink…"_

_The old woman continued her grumbles as she went about her business, unaware that the red-haired teen had quietly slipped away…_

_It was late June, and the sun was beginning to set and yet it was still warm out._

_The young redhead just walked the streets of his city with his precious bundle in his arms. A few passerby would stop and stare at him but none had stopped the unusual pair, preferring to keep to their own troubles rather than worry about the troubles of another. His quiet baby sister would occasionally make a fuss as if telling him that he was going the wrong way, and he would correct his path but never stopping._

_He did not know what to do. He knew that his Seraphim could never return home with him. The moment that Donald would take one look at the baby, the teen knew the man would kill his Mathair or worse… kill Seraphim. The teen would rather die than let that happen._

_He could probably runaway with Sera. But where could he go? He could probably try to reach his Great Aunt in Florida, but there was a strong possibility that his father would find him there - after all Donald had found them there before, and by default, the elder Caine would learn about his baby sister. And then there was a question of money, how could he take care of her? He was only 15 years old, still in school and never held a job - even a part time one. His Mathair had even refused him to take a part time job, stating that his education was more important._

_He suddenly felt a shiver, realizing that night had fully fallen on the wandering pair and the night lights of Manhattan began to obscure the natural night sky. He looked around him to figure out where he had walked to and was surprised to find that he had no idea where he was. And what was worse, Seraphim was beginning to fuss in earnest._

"_You're hungry?" The teen asked his sister, who only fussed even louder._

_He held her closer to him as he looked around desperately for a safe place to rest and find food for the most important treasure in his life._

"_Sounds like someone is hungry." A kind voice stated, startling the teen._

_The redhead turned around and saw a middle aged man, carrying a plastic convenient store bag in his hand. The stranger's expression, although friendly, was also a mix of concern and confusion. The teen knew that he and his sister were an odd sight, but no one had bothered them before so why was this stranger concerned about them. Sera fussed again, causing the youth to look down and smile at the pair of Siberian blue orbs before they disappeared again behind closed lids._

"_She has beautiful eyes." The stranger commented as he stood closer to the siblings, startling the teen to take a step back, clutching his sister closer and glowering at him._

_The stranger wisely placed his hands up and took a step back._

"_My apologies." He replied, "I didn't mean to startle you."_

_The teen relaxed a bit, knowing that he was being truthful and that the stranger could be trusted. The stranger was one of those _good_ people that the redhead could easily identify. The stranger felt like a warm blanket that one had just taken out of the dryer and wrapped themselves in. The teenager knew that the man would keep him and his sister safe._

"_My name is Peter, Peter Brennan." The stranger introduced himself, "I was on my way home when I saw you two. Do you have someplace to go?"_

_The young man shook his head and hesitantly took a step toward Peter, wanting to bask in the warm blanket presence that the stranger exuded._

"_Well then, let's go to my place. It's warm, and we can get something for the little one to eat." The older man suggested with a warm smile and an outstretched hand…_

"_Is that you, Peter?" A woman's voice called from the kitchen._

"_Yeah, Hun… uhm, I've brought guests…?" Peter questioned the redhead, who was curiously looking around._

"_Guests?" The voice grew louder as a dark-skinned woman stepped out of the kitchen, cleaning her hands on a wash clothe._

"_Maria…" Peter began as he wrapped his arms around his startled wife, and with an arm around her shoulders, he guided the smaller woman toward the redhead._

"_Maria, this is… eh… what is your name?" Peter sheepishly asked with a grin on his face, which caused his wife to gap at her husband._

_She suddenly snapped on the older man and began yelling at him, but the teen did not understand a word she was saying. The redhead had remembered hearing the language once before when he, his Mathair and brother had run away to Florida nearly a year ago. And while the woman continued to rant in her native language, Sera suddenly let out a loud wail, startling everyone. The teenager immediately turned his attention to his baby sister while ignoring everything else around him._

"_Shh… shh…" The young man hummed as he gently rocked his precious bundle._

"_Oh! The poor little thing!" Maria cooed as she approached the pair._

_The redhead looked up at the woman, who was looking with haunting longingly at his Sera. It was a haunting look that spoke of a woman, who wanted children but would never have one of her own._

"_May I?" She asked as she held her arms out._

_Glacier blue eyes just stared into a pair of hazel-brown orbs._

_Maria's eyes grew wide when she noticed the slight glow of the teen's own gems. She was looking at him with a strange reverence that made the young man a bit nervous. No one had ever looked at him that way before. It was always with a look of disdain and suspicion, especially from the older generations._

_The young man nibbled his lower lip as he gently handed his baby sister to the _good_ woman. Instinctively he knew that these people were good and would take good care of his Seraphim, giving her a better life than she would have had if she stayed with him. He knew that it was for the best, but why did it still feel like he was dying? He stood next to the woman as she held his baby sister, who had finally calmed down a bit._

"_She's gorgeous." Maria whispered, "And such beautiful eyes…"_

"_Her name is Seraphim."_

"_Seraphim." Peter repeated as he stood behind his wife and looked down at the baby._

_The teen slipped his hand into his pocket and quietly pulled out a golden medallion. Slowly he took a step away from the couple as they focused on the tiny baby, who would become their entire world. Without their notice, the redhead had placed the golden medallion on the coffee table and walked out of the little apartment… ignoring the tears that stung at his eyes and stained his cheeks and never looking back despite his desire to turn around and steal his Seraphim back…_

* * *

"Sera!" Horatio shot up in his bed before bending over in pain as his body protested against the movement.

Glacier blue gems were wide as he looked around the darkened room. Movement beside him caused the redhead to look down and became entranced by a pair of Siberian blue gems. His body relaxed, relieved to know that he had not lost his Sera a second time.

Seraphim slowly rose from her position and leaned against his larger frame, resting her head in the crook of her Fire-Fur's neck. She felt his stronger arms around her, and she also felt and scented his salty tears. Sera frowned as to why her Fire-Fur would be shedding tears. She did not know what else she could do to help her troubled Kin, but she slowly began to purr, letting her Horatio just hold her.

"Sera…" Horatio whispered as he looked into his sister's quiet eyes.

Sera stretched up and placed a light kiss on his forehead, causing the older Kin to sigh.

"I never forgot about you…" Her Fire-Fur whispered.

Sera frowned then pulled out her name from underneath of her itchy second-skin. Lying in her palm, she looked at the golden medallion that had always been in her possession. She remembered her _Madre _telling her of a sad red-haired angel, who had delivered her to them and left, leaving only the Saint Michael medallion.

"You kept it."

She gave her Fire-Fur a bright smile.

"My… our Seanathair gave it to me when I was 12 years old… before he passed away." Horatio explained, "It belonged to him… he was a police officer in New York."

Sera gently smiled as she nodded her head. When she was younger, she remembered researching O'Shea as a homework assignment in high-school and learned about the Irish New York policeman, who was recognized for taking down one of the local mobs.

Horatio found himself grinning.

"You knew that, didn't you?" Then his grin faded and looked deeply into his sister's eyes, "Seanathair suspected my father's abusive ways, but without Mathair saying anything, he couldn't do anything to help… he would have… he could have protected you if he were alive…"

Sera arched a brow.

"Donald would have killed you." Her Fire-Fur whispered, causing Siberian blue gems to blink, "And I would not have been able to stop him… not then… I did the only thing I could to protect you…"

Horatio's voice broke in self-hatred.

"I didn't want to… I wanted to take you and run away… where… where could we have gone, I didn't know… I …. I…" Glacier blue orbs looked away as the redhead tried to keep his emotions in check.

The Lieutenant felt his sister's hand on his cheek, causing him to turn his attention back to her.

Sera drew a deep breath and slowly mouthed three simple words.

_Not your fault._

The redhead just looked at her in confusion.

"Seraphim… I gave you away!" He hissed, "I even told Mathair that you were stillborn… I hid you! … I hid you as if you were some… some disgrace… you should hate me! I failed to protect you!"

Siberian blue gems blinked. She tilted her head to the side. Her Fire-Fur believed he had failed to protect, but why she could not fathom. She held her hands out and palms up.

Horatio looked at his sister's open hands then looked up in confusion. His tense frame suddenly deflated as he looked in absolute sorrow.

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell me…" He whispered, "This is my fault."

SMACK

Glacier blue eyes grew wide when Sera slapped her hand against his cheeks. He could feel the sting from her assault. He was surprised to see such anger in her eyes and hear a deep growl coming from her tiny frame.

Sera then pointed an angry finger at her Fire-Fur. She even jabbed his nose before she crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head. She could not believe that her Fire-Fur would think that her wounds and her state of mind was his fault. She could not believe that her Horatio held such self-hate that he would blame himself for _her_ life choices.

Thin red brows furrowed together as the Lieutenant tried to decipher his sister's message. He let out a sigh as he raked a hand through his messy locks. Unaware that this was probably the first time in a _**very**_ long time that he showed any signs of vulnerability.

"I'm sorry." Horatio whispered, "I wish I can understand what you're trying to say."

This time it was Sera, who let out a heavy sigh as a puff of air rustled her bangs. Suddenly her eyes brightened as she remembered that she could draw sounds. Sera gave her Fire-Fur a bright smile before she leapt off of his bed and disappeared.

"Wait! Sera!" Horatio cried as he tried to follow after her, but his body protested at the sudden movement.

The Lieutenant heard a startled cry coming from outside of his room.

"Horatio?" A familiar Southern voice called as a beautiful blonde came into his room with her hand resting on her service weapon while her bright green gems scanned the room for any potential dangers.

"Calleigh." Horatio relaxed when he saw his petite Second-in-Command and immediately recognized that the beautiful blonde was visiting him during her break.

"Are you alright, H? I heard you shouting!"

The redhead sighed before nodding his head.

"I'm fine… a little tired but fine nonetheless."

"Who was that that just ran out of here?" The Ballistic Expert questioned, slowly relaxing her guarded stance.

"That was Seraphim." Her boss explained while he kept an eye on the door, knowing that Sera would be returning in a short moment.

"Ah, the mysterious Seraphim that Frank told us about."

Horatio turned his attention to his colleague, who just looked at him expectedly. He ran a hand through his hair before rubbing his face. He vaguely wondered how many times would he have to explain about his half-sister. Maybe he should have some sort of get together with his colleagues to introduce them to his sister and she to them. But most likely the get together would consist of answering all sorts of questions. His team could never resist a mystery, and if that mystery involved him any shape or form, they were as bad a dog with a bone that he was often accused of being at times. _Yes, definitely have a dinner with the entire team._

"Horatio?" The Southern Belle whispered, approaching closer to the redhead's bed when she realized that her dear friend and mentor had drifted off into his inner thoughts.

A low growl echoed from behind Calleigh, causing the long haired blonde to snap around and her green eyes grew wide when she saw the tiny waif-like creature. Instinctively she placed a hand on her weapon, but her eyes never wavered from a pair of piercing Siberian blue gems.

"Sera." Horatio had one of his half smiles that reached his eyes. His relief was blatant that caused Calleigh to turn to her boss.

_So this is Seraphim?_

A sudden movement startled the blonde to take a several steps away from Horatio's bed. The Southerner just blinked in surprise to see the mysterious Seraphim leap onto the redhead's bed and settled comfortably next to the injured criminalist. Calleigh could not believe her eyes. While she knew that her boss and friend did not have a huge aversion to being touched, the blonde knew that it was usually the redhead who would initiate any sort of physical contact. And yet Seraphim sat so close that her smaller frame was touching Horatio's, and H did not seem bothered by the closeness.

Sera watched the Long-Hair closely. She recognized the gold glint on the other female's hip, indicating that she too was a Guardian like her Fire-Fur, but there was something about the Long-Hair's scent that had Sera on edge. The Long-Hair had the faint scent of burnt smoke, which surprisingly did not bother her, but there was also something hidden beneath her scent… something earthy and musky at the same time. It was as if her body was getting ready for a change, a change that has yet to settle but would settle soon. It was strange and made her worry if the scent was probably an illness and if it was, would the illness harm her Horatio.

"Calleigh," The redhead began, "this is Seraphim, my sister. Sera, this is Calleigh, my friend and colleague."

Green eyes grew wide while Siberian blue orbs blinked. Sera then bowed her head, revealing a notepad and pen in hand. She held the pen in her fist and began to slowly move the pen over the sheets of paper in the notepad.

Calleigh found herself restraining from cooing at the adorable of image of Seraphim writing with the tip of her tongue sticking pass her lips and Horatio just watching with a mix of pride and happiness on his face. Sera then handed the notepad to the redhead.

"Hello!" Horatio read with a true and bright smile on his face that reached his eyes.

Calleigh gasped in surprised. She had never seen her friend look so happy, not since Marisol.

The redhead enveloped his sister in a tight hug, causing Sera to purr and nuzzle her face into his chest.

Calleigh sat down in the available chair and was amazed to see this side of her friend.

"What happened to her?" The Southern Belle asked, not wanting to ruin the peace between the apparent long-lost siblings.

Horatio ran his hand through Sera's darker locks.

"Sera was being held against her will and was being poisoned by the Director of a military hospital." The redhead explained Sera's current condition.

"And the scars?"

The Lieutenant tensed.

"Seraphim was a POW in Afghanistan…"

Green eyes grew wide once more in such a short span of time.

"Oh my…"

Sera blinked then reached for the discarded notepad and pen.

Horatio let his arm lay loosely around his sister's frame, giving her room to move and write.

The CSI pair watched on the waif-like woman slowly wrote her message on the notepad.

She immediately gave the notepad to her Fire-Fur.

"No pity. No shame." Horatio read then looked at his sister in amazement, "Scar equals life."

"H?" Calleigh found herself whispering in confusion.

Glacier blue orbs blinked and peered deeply in a pair of confused green orbs.

"Seraphim helped save the lives of missing and captured soldiers in Afghanistan." The Lieutenant explained, "She sees her scars as a sign of those lives that she had saved."

Sera nodded and bowed her head once more. She found that drawing sounds was becoming easier as she continued drawing them.

"I protect." Horatio smiled then placed a kiss on her temple, "Yes, you did. And now, I protect you."

This caused Sera to wrinkle her nose while giving him a pointed look, causing the criminalist to chuckle.

"I failed to protect you once, Seraphim, but I will not fail you again." He promised then looked at his Second-in-Command, "Calleigh, I need a favor."

"Anything."

"I'll be requesting some time off." The redhead began, "As you can see, it'll take some time for Sera and I to become reacquainted, and for me to help her recover from this latest ordeal."

"How long will you be taking?" The Ballistic Expert easily asked without hesitation, knowing that she was one of very few people that the redhead trusted explicitly.

"Three months… perhaps more, I really don't know." He confessed.

"Don't worry, H. I'll take care of everything. You just concentrate on yourself and Seraphim."

"Thank you, Calleigh."

"Anytime, H."

* * *

A tall man dressed in a foreboding dark suit stormed pass the glass automatic doors. His dark eyes sneered at the gathered people in the Emergency Room. He clenched his teeth as he heard the jumbled mix of English and Spanish that was spoken around him, but he quickly pushed his disdain for the noise and for the people aside as he pushed pass the sea of bodies and approached the receptionist's desk, where a homely looking woman just got off the phone.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Asked the young technician with a light smile.

The tall, dark-haired man pulled his badge from his belt and not so gently slammed it on the receptionist's desk, taking sick pleasure at seeing the young woman jump a little.

"Richard Stetler, Miami P.D." Stetler stated as if his name would be immediately known, "I need to know where Horatio Caine's room is."

"Uhm…" The young woman stuttered as she instinctively looked around to see if there was anyone else who could help her. However, seeing no one, she reached for her phone, "Please, wait one minute."

Stetler just stood there, waiting for the technician to give him the information that he wanted.

"Eh… sir?" She called a few minutes later.

Richard looked at her as if she was beneath his notice.

"Dr. Woods would be here shortly if you would be please wait over there." She pointed out toward the waiting room and far away from her.

"Dr. Alexx Woods?" Stetler sneered.

"Yes'sir." She replied meekly.

_Damn._ He mentally swore but did as instructed. He should have known that Doctor Woods would be the redhead's doctor. He had hoped to pressure whatever doctor, who was treating the criminalist, in letting the Internal Affairs Bureau Lieutenant to question - without any interference - the quiet Irishman about his involvement on the bust at the military hospital, and Richard definitely wanted to question the CSI about his three months sabbatical request, which was granted. _Without question!_ Richard mentally growled. When he wanted time off for any extended period of time, he was denied!

The brunette could not understand the enigma that was Horatio Caine. That man had made a lot of enemies, ranging from criminals to politicians, and those same enemies were also surprisingly respectful of the criminalist. And despite having all of those enemies, the redhead still seemed to get what he wanted. It was as if the criminalist had someone extremely up high watching out for him, and it unnerved Stetler that he did not know who it was or how it was possible for the CSI could come out of every situation proverbially unscathed. Ever since the redhead had made Lieutenant before him only after being with Miami-Dade Police Department for about two years while Stetler was with the department for nearly five years, Richard had made it his personal mission to find out everything he could on the secretive Irishman. _He shouldn't have been made a Lieutenant before me._

"Ah, Stetler, I should have known." A cool voice clipped, causing Richard to turn around and look at the pixie-haired African-American woman.

"Dr. Alexx Woods." He replied in equally clipped tones.

"You would like to see Horatio?"

"Yes."

Alexx sighed and turned around, not bothering to see if the Internal Affairs Lieutenant was following her.

* * *

"So, three months? Seriously, Dad?" Kyle asked his father while he watched the nurse unhook the IV from the pale man's arm.

"You sound surprised." The redhead commented as he smiled his thanks to the nurse, who quickly left due to the unease she felt from the unblinking Siberian blue stare from the other side of the room.

After the second day at the hospital, Horatio and Kyle quickly realized that Sera would react violently to anyone who wore a white lab coat. Both men quickly guessed that Sera had subconsciously associated white lab coats with pain and poison, and to avoid any future confrontations, they had told Alexx of their observations. She then immediately had instructed her doctors and interns to remove their coats whenever they checked up on the Lieutenant. And while they followed Alexx' instructions with question, especially after one incident dealing with a haughty doctor, the doctors and the interns still felt uncomfortable of having the eyes of a predator on their person. It often caused them to come in and leave as quickly as humanly possible, which Horatio found not only entertaining but a godsend.

The redhead hated hospitals, and if Alexx had not declared herself as his doctor, Horatio would have signed himself out earlier then remaining the full week.

"Well, yeah, I'm surprised." Kyle remarked then turned to his aunt, "Here, Maddie and I brought these for you." The blonde addressed to his aunt as he pulled out some clothes from the duffle bag in his hand, "We noticed that the clothes they gave you were giving you hives. Maddie thought these might help. They're 100% cotton."

Sera ghosted her hand over the soft fabric. She felt the softness of the fabric and her body relax. She knew that these second skins would be perfect, and that they would not itch and cause her to scratch herself raw. She smiled, giving the Blonde One a chaste kiss on the temple, and she disappeared into the bathroom to change, much to the Blonde One's relief. The last time she changed skins, she did so in front of the Blonde One and her Fire-Fur. She had never seen a pair of Pale Faces turn Redskin so fast before that she could not stop laughing. As she changed, she continued to listen, even with the door closed.

"I'm surprised because do you think that it'll take three months to fix Aunt Sera?" Kyle asked as he handed his father the duffle bag.

Horatio shook his head.

"No, I don't think three months will be enough time." The redhead explained as he began dressing into the clothes that his son had brought from H's loft, "And to be honest, I don't think there is enough time in the world to help Sera fully recover, but I believe that three months will be a good starting point.

"She's smart, and everything that makes her uniquely her is still there… it's just buried under instinct… she's been fighting to survive for so long that… this is also a part of her."

"And how do you know?" Kyle asked; worried that his father will become heartbroken if Sera never recovered - even a little, "How can you be certain?"

Horatio paused from putting on his shirt and looked at his son. He knew that Kyle was looking out for him, but he did not know how to explain how he knew what he did. It was a truth that he knew to be true without hesitation or doubt. It was like he knew if a person was _good_ or _bad_… It was just something he _knew_. _Perhaps it's my own instincts at play._ The redhead thought.

The Irishman then held out his hand to his son. Kyle knew that it was his father's way of asking him to come, and he did. The blonde young man stepped into his father's personal space and felt the older man's arms wrap themselves around him.

"I don't know what I can say to ease your worries." Horatio began as he hugged his son, "This is just something I know to be true."

Kyle breathed deeply, taking in his father's unique scent and embrace - not in the least bit embarrassed that he still enjoy getting hugs from his Dad.

"Okay, Dad. I believe you. I just don't want to see you get hurt." The blonde mumbled, tightening his own hold of his father. He was about to speak again when he heard the all too familiar sound of his aunt growling, which confused the young man since he knew that the young woman had no objections of him touching his father.

"Sera?" Horatio questioned but immediately followed her Siberian blue glare. His own Glacier Ice blue gems narrowed before he purposively ignored the cause of his sister's ire and the source of his continuous annoyance.

"Horatio." Richard Stetler's voice carried into the room as he watched the redhead turned around, exposing his scarred back to both the I.A.B. Lieutenant and Alexx. Rick's eyes grew wide when he noticed the scarring. He immediately walked up to his rival with a hand out to grab the lither male's arm when he suddenly gave out a loud and undignified yelp.

"Whoa!" Kyle gasped while Alexx let loose a strangled gasp.

Horatio had just slipped his shirt over his head and blinked when he noticed that his Sera had Stetler in an arm lock, and the taller man was on his knees.

"I didn't even see her move!" Kyle exclaimed as he looked between his father and his aunt.

"Get her off!" Rick shouted, causing Sera to growl and not-so-gently lift his arm a bit higher, causing him to lean forward to avoid further pain.

"Seraphim, please, let him go." Horatio whispered as he placed a calm hand on her shoulder.

As quickly as she attacked, she quickly released her prey and stepped closer to her Fire-Fur. She did not like how this tall one had leered at her Horatio nor did she like the scent he exuded. Whoever this tall one was, Sera knew that he was no friend to her Fire-Fur. He would bare watching.

Richard quickly scrambled to his feet, turned around and glared at his nemesis and the strange woman. However, his glare disappeared when he stared at the surreal and ethereal image before him. Standing before him was naturally Horatio; however, instead of his usual dark suits, the redhead was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a fade grey long-sleeved, v-cut shirt with the sleeves pushed up. The redhead had an arm loosely across the mysterious woman's chest.

The mysterious woman just looked at him without blinking, which unnerved Stetler greatly. The I.A.B. Lieutenant had to break away from his staring contest with the strange woman and finally took a good look of her. He immediately clenched his teeth when he realized that he was brought to his knees by a girl half his size and most likely half his weight. She wore a pair of loose, black elephant-pants that rested low on her hips and an equally loose, wheat-colored long-sleeved peasant blouse with a dark colored tank top underneath, and she wore ribbon wrapped around her throat.

"Horatio honey, how are you feeling?" Alexx finally asked as she approached the tense siblings and hopefully to defuse the situation between the two Lieutenants.

"I'm fine, Alexx… looking forward to going home." The redhead smiled at his friend.

"Of course, you are." The doctor knowingly remarked then looked at Seraphim to make sure that her injuries had not been aggravated by the one-sided tussle as the young woman kept watching Stetler as if he was the most dangerous thing in the room. In all honesty, Alexx believed that Sera was the most dangerous one, especially when it came to protecting Horatio and their family.

"What are you staring at?" Richard finally snapped then took a step back when he saw her pull her lips back and revealing her sharp canines.

"Sera," Horatio lightly chided, "I'm sure _Dick _meant nothing by his tone."

Richard sneered at the nickname to his given name but was startled by the sound of an animal growling; however, he saw no animal around. It was then he realized that the noise was coming from the woman.

"Richard." The redhead called, catching the brunette's attention, "Is there something you needed? Or is this a social visit?"

Which both Lieutenants knew that this was anything but a social visit.

"Yes." Stetler replied as he straightened himself, "I heard that you're taking a sabbatical to take care of a family member."

A brow arched.

"I see."

"But I spoke with Yelina, and she seems fine." Richard stated then sneered at Kyle, which caused Sera to growl once more, "And I can see that your son is also fine as well as your niece…"

"What the fuck?" Kyle growled out, not liking the idea that this man was keeping tabs not only him but also his little cousin.

"Kyle." Horatio's tone was reprimanding and was effective in silencing the blonde from cursing the I.A.B Lieutenant. Glacier Ice blue orbs, bordering on being acidic ice blue, turned to the taller man, "I wasn't aware that you had such an interest in my family… but you seemed to have miss a few."

"You mean that hot-head brother-in-law, Delko?" Stetler smirked, thinking that he had the redhead where the brunette wanted him.

The woman in the CSI's arms growled even louder, finally drawing the I.A.B.'s attention back to her.

"What the hell is wrong with her? And who is she?" Richard demanded.

The redhead was quiet then looked down at his sister, who finally looked away from the tall one and stared into her brother's eyes. A silent conversion ensued between the siblings before Sera gave him a light smile and a nod. She then went on her toes and gave her Fire-Fur a chaste kiss on his cheek. She returned her attention to the tall one, giving him a dark grin. With her middle finger, she pulled her lower eyelid down and stuck her tongue out.

Kyle's jaw dropped when he saw his aunt give the I.A.B Lieutenant a gesture that he had only seen in Japanese animation called anime.

"Richard, this is Captain Seraphim Brennan-O'Shea… my sister, and she is the one, who is in need of my help." Horatio proudly stated and amused by his sister's childish behavior. "Sera, this is Richard Stetler of Internal Affairs."

Suddenly a sharp hissing sound escaped pass Sera's lips.

"Sera." The redhead reprimanded, making Seraphim stop her hissing and causing her to cross her arms with a pout.

She then reached for the ever present notepad off of the bed and swiftly wrote one word, which caused Horatio's lips to twitch to keep from smiling.

_Weasel._ However, Kyle had no restraint and openly laughed, thinking that his aunt was right on the money about the shifty Lieutenant.

"Caine!" Stetler snapped, causing the criminalist to look away from his family and give the dark haired Lieutenant an arched brow. "You don't have a sister! It's not in your files!"

"There's much that is not my files, _Dick_." The redhead coolly stated then looked to Alexx, who looked very smug about Stetler being put in his place, "Am I free to go, Alexx?"

"Of course." Alexx chimed, "Are we still good for Saturday?"

"I'm looking forward to it; however, let's have dinner at my home." Horatio requested.

"Oh! Now, _I'm_ looking forward to it. I'll see you then."

The redhead nodded and escorted his family out of the hospital room and pass Stetler.

Once outside of the hospital, Kyle let loose a rant about the I.A.B. Lieutenant and about the creepiness of the man's strange obsession with his father and their family.

"My god! He's such a dick!" The blonde loudly exclaimed once he calmed down but was surprised when he heard his father chuckling. "What?"

"Why do you think I sometimes call him _Dick_?"

Kyle blinked owlishly for a moment before letting loose a deep belly laugh in understanding his father's unique humor.

_**Stay tuned for the next chapter of CSI: Sentinel - The Awakening coming June 1, 2013.**_


	5. Chapter 5

To my dear readers,

Firstly, I want to apologize upfront for getting your hopes up and then cruelly dashing it.

As you have suspected, this, unfortunately, is not an update that you were hoping for.

Recently, my computer crashed, and I am currently getting it restored. With that being said, the crash caused me to lose all of my original drafts for _Bleach: A Breed Apart, CSI: Sentinel - Awakening_ and _Konoha no Yoko: Chuunin Exams_, and that means I have to re-type everything. Because of that, I do not think I will have everything typed and edited by December 1st, and on top of that, I am currently in the middle of a computer security course that has eaten a lot of my attention and focus.

Once I have my computer restored, I will continue as before, but this delay will also affect my working on _Pack of Shadows_ so at the moment I ask that you please be patient with me, and I will post any updates as soon as I have them completed.

Sincerely,

Azteka


End file.
